Barwin Defends Kelly: 'As Easy To Communicate With' As Any Coach
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- LeSean McCoy got the proverbial ball rolling when he said Chip Kelly got rid of all the good, black players the fastest. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith added fuel to the fire, opening the flood gates, and now it seems like almost every ex-Eagle has a similar type of comment about their former head coach.
Cornerback Brandon Boykin, who was traded for a conditional fifth round pick on Saturday night, was the latest to criticize Kelly, saying he was hard to communicate with.
Linebacker Connor Barwin, disagreed, defending Kelly Monday morning on the 94WIP Morning Show.
Connor Barwin on the 94WIP Morning Show:
"I think he communicates as much or more than any other coaches that I've played before. I think that everybody understands that if you have something to say you can go say it to Chip and he communicates why he does everything he does. So, I feel like he's as easy to communicate as any coach that I've ever played for."
So why the concerning comments from players like McCoy and Boykin?
"I don't know," Barwin admitted. "There's guys that left here that didn't [say anything]. I don't think Trent [Cole] said anything. I don't think Todd Herremans said anything. So I don't know why those guys said that, but I'm sure the new teams that they're on are never happy that they're still talking about their old team."
Eagles safety and vocal leader Malcolm Jenkins, who has often defended Kelly, also disagreed with Boykin's comments.
"I know Chip likes uniformity, and the individualism of football is sometimes taken away," Jenkins said on Sunday. "I think that might be what people don't like. Chip doesn't like when individuals do things different than the team. And let me stress, that's not Brandon. Not at all. Brandon could have a little swagger to them. But Chip wants uniformity that no one is bigger than the team. For me, what Brandon said hasn't been the case."
