Brandon Boykin Says Chip Kelly Can't Relate to Players
More harsh criticism for Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly.
After being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback Brandon Boykin became the latest player to take aim at Kelly.
"He can't relate and that makes him uncomfortable," Boykin told CSNPhilly of Kelly, as reported by ESPN. "He likes total control of everything, and he don't like to be uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn't been important to him."
Boykin essentially felt ignored by the coach.
"When you're a player, you want to be able to relate to your coach off the field," Boykin told media at Steelers training camp, as reported by ESPN. "There were times he just didn't talk to people. You would walk down the hallway, he wouldn't say anything to you. I'm not saying he's a racist in any way."
This comes after wide receiver DeSean Jackson and running back LeSean McCoy — both former Eagles — criticized Kelly over his methods as well. In May, as part of an ESPN The Magazine feature, McCoy even said that Kelly "got rid" of "all the good black players."
In addition, Jeremy Maclin was also let go by the Eagles. Jackson, McCoy and Maclin are all Black players. Compounding that is the fact that the Eagles rewarded wide receiver Riley Cooper with a five-year, $25 million deal in February 2014, months after he said the N-word during a country music concert in July 2013. Cooper is white.
Boykin could understand why players might feel discomfort around Kelly in the way McCoy voiced.
"I felt a lot of guys in that locker room feel the same way," Boykin added. "Of course, when you're in the organization, you're not going to voice your opinion. For me, I've always been a guy of honesty. Not trying to put anybody out in any way, but if you're honest with me, I'll be honest with you, and I felt like that honesty wasn't there all the time."
When approached by reporters Sunday about Boykin's comments, Kelly seemingly wrote them off as a possible case of sour grapes due to the cornerback being traded, coincidentally just as he did with McCoy.
"He was disappointed," Kelly said of Boykin. "I think he really liked it here, very close with his teammates."
Kelly added, "When he left here last night, he shook my hand [and] gave me a hug. I like Brandon."
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(Photos from left: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images, Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
