LeSean McCoy doesn't want much to do with his former coach, Chip Kelly, a sentiment Kelly says he understands.
A day after the Bills running back said he doesn't want to shake Kelly's hand when the two teams play each other Sunday, the Eagles coach admitted the way McCoy's trade to the Bills went down was messy.
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"How he was traded, it wasn't handled right," Kelly said, via ESPN.com. "I've said that before. I did not get an opportunity to talk to him. And it's a lesson that we should never do."
During the offseason, McCoy was sent to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso in a deal in which neither player was notified until everything had been approved.
"We were told that the trade wasn't initiated and wouldn't be initiated until the next morning. So there were no phone calls to be made," Kelly said. "And then, all of a sudden, I'm driving to an event and he's been traded. I felt bad that I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I called him. He didn't answer my phone call. I know he was pissed, and he should be pissed and rightly so."
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Despite the aftermath of the trade, Kelly said he still believed the trade was the right move and that he respects McCoy and views him as a talented player.
"If he doesn't want to shake my hand, I understand it. But I will always shake his hand," Kelly said. "If he extends his hand to me, I will always shake his hand.
"I have great respect for him as a player. Everything we asked him to do here, he did. He was an outstanding football player for two years [under Kelly] here. The only reason he wasn't here is the money was too high. He's still a really good football player in this league."