DeSean Jackson & LeSean McCoy Claim Former Eagles Coach Chip Kelly ‘Uncomfortable Working With Black Players'

Does current Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly have a problem working with black football players? That's what some of his former players on the Philadelphia Eagles apparently believe.

DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy both played under Kelly when he was head coach of the Eagles from 2013-2015 and came to believe that he was "uncomfortable" dealing with black players from their experiences.

In a recent episode of their joint The 25/10 Show both agreed they felt that Kelly wasn't able to communicate well with them. 

"I’ve never met a coach that was uncomfortable with dealing with Black players," McCoy said, "because — let’s just not hide it — most of the players are Black. The NFL is dominated by Black players, and it’s a lot of white coaches.

"There would be times where I would be in the meeting room with Duce Staley, my running back coach, and he would say, ‘Yo,’ [and] he would be critiquing me about something I did. But I’m thinking, ‘These aren’t even your words,’ so I would say, ‘Where’d you get that at? Why are you telling me this?’ because me and him had a great relationship. [Staley said], ‘Well, Chip wants you to do this and that.'"

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State Buckeyes Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly address member's of the media at Woody Hayes Athletic Center on March 05, 2024. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

Chip Kelly Complaints Valid?

McCoy also said he went to confront Kelly about Staley's remarks, only to get a different version of events from Kelly directly. He also claimed that others noticed, including white players. He also claimed that Kelly wanted Roc Carmichael to cut his hair to present a better appearance.

"We’re in the pros!" McCoy explained. "This ain’t college… [Carmichael] came down and told me, ‘Yo man, can you believe Chip told me he wanted me to be more presentable, cut my hair?’ He’s uncomfortable with working with black players. That’s a prime example."

This isn't the first time that McCoy’s accused Kelly of racism; back in 2015 he defended previous accusations that Kelly factored in players’ races when making roster decisions.  

McCoy and Jackson both clearly felt that disagreements with Kelly rose above your typical coach-player relationship. And maybe he doesn't communicate as well with black players. But at the same time, Kelly has been a very successful head coach in the past. It's hard to imagine that being possible if he truly was uncomfortable with black players specifically.

It's not as if he didn't work closely with non-white players; his quarterback for Oregon's peak was Darron Thomas, and he coached one season with Marcus Mariota. Those teams were nearly unbeatable, something that seems unlikely if he was only comfortable speaking to white players.

Kelly has a prickly demeanor, something that's been apparent through his obvious distaste for recruiting. Not to mention the choice to forgo the increased responsibilities as a head coach at UCLA for the lower pressure of being an offensive coordinator. Maybe his lack of social graces manifested itself in disagreements with players, or poor communication skills. Or maybe not.