Eagles owner: LeSean McCoy isn't the type of RB Chip Kelly prefers

Chip Kelly wouldn’t admit that he traded LeSean McCoy for more than just financial reasons, but Jeffrey Lurie did.

The Eagles’ team chairman Tuesday said he spoke frequently with Kelly about personnel moves the franchise would make to tailor the roster to Kelly’s needs.

Lurie said that McCoy’s running style didn’t blend with what Kelly looked for in a running back, which is also why Kelly dealt McCoy to Buffalo in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso along with clearing more than $20 million in cap space.

“We’ve been talking about the asset value of LeSean for a long time because he wasn’t the style of runner that Chip prefers, but a great player,” Lurie said.

Somehow, McCoy managed to lead the NFL in rushing (1,607) and yards from scrimmage (2,146) in 2013 — Kelly’s first season — despite his mismatched fit with Kelly’s zone schemes. Last year, McCoy placed third among the league’s leading rushers with 1,319 yards despite rampant injuries along the offensive line.

McCoy wasn’t thrilled to see some of his carries in red zone and short-yardage situations handed to Darren Sproles and Chris Polk. By season’s end, signs emerged that McCoy could be on his way out or asked to take a pay cut.

Still, Kelly said recently that his only reason for dealing McCoy was to relieve cap space and use the cash to sign multiple players — DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews — on top of adding an inside linebacker to rebuild the defense.

“We just didn’t give that player that lump sum but we felt like the ability to free up money and that was the only reason we did it with LeSean,” he said, “because if not we would still have him here.”

Asked about the perception that McCoy’s freelance style didn’t fit his scheme, Kelly responded, “I’ve had all different types of backs. When I was at Oregon we had Jonathan Stewart and LeGarrette Blount who were [one-cut runners], but I also had great success with (elusive tailbacks) LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner and De’Anthony Thomas.”

The reality is Murray and Matthews are one-cut runners whose running styles are more choreographed and disciplined than McCoy’s. Before signing Murray, the reigning NFL rushing champion, the Eagles first tried to sign Frank Gore, another power runner known for hitting the hole without delay and following the blocking scheme.

“LeSean McCoy is a great running back — all-time franchise leader. Great guy in every way,” Lurie said. “To maximize [Kelly’s] power spread offense, [Kelly] has always admired the one-cut runners. That’s what he admired.”

-- Geoff Mosher, CSNPhilly.com