August 04, 2015
Riley Cooper is still with the Eagles. And two years after he was seen in a video screaming racial slurs at a security guard during a Kenny Chesney concert, that incident still bothers some people.
But is that the reason race constantly gets thrown out there as an idea whenever Chip Kelly makes a questionable roster move?
"It could be [part of it], but I don't spend a lot of time trying to connect X to Y to Z," Kelly told reporters before Tuesday's open practice at Lincoln Financial Field.
“I think that Riley made a mistake,” Kelly said. “That’s part of it. And we all backed him. Michael Vick backed him. Jason Avant backed him. I think that’s part of being in an organization, on a team.
"I looked at that as a specific incident where he was 100 percent wrong. Those are things that should never be said, and I hope he learned his lesson. And I think he regrets what he did that day every single day. I see that in him.
"But do I regret what we do in terms of how we handle Riley? No. I don’t.”
After practice, Cooper had no problem pumping his fist to the crowd and signing autographs as he walked off the field, but the former Florida Gator wanted no parts of discussing his coach's comments.
"Come on, what's your question?" Cooper asked as I told him what Kelly said.
But before I had a chance to ask him how things are going in the locker room or if he agrees with Kelly's assessment, Cooper yelled over to the closest PR guy.
"Are we leaving?" he asked the Eagles employee. And then he turned back. "He said I've got to go."
As for the culture that exists inside the Eagles locker room, Kelly said things are just fine and that he wasn't sure why Brandon Boykin felt slighted.
"We have an open-door policy," Kelly said. "I had a long talk with Brandon last spring when he came in and sat down and talked to me. You can come talk to me whenever you want. We also have a pretty structured day where guys are in meetings. I don't just walk around and say, 'Hey, let me go grab him and sit down and have coffee together.' When they get here, they're doing stuff.
"We're limited with our time, especially in the offseason. You get guys for four hours, there's not a time when we're all sitting around, holding hands, singing 'Kumbaya' together. We’re in meeting rooms, getting stuff done. They’re in the weight room, getting stuff done. They’re on the training field getting stuff done. And then they’re out of there. Maybe if they expand our time, we could spend more time. But I don’t think it’s different than any other head coach.”
Chip also said there are so many personalities on the team, and that may come into play.
"I think I treat everybody how they should be treated," he said. "I respect everybody. Some guys talk more, but I could sit in a room with Kiko [Alonso] for three or four hours and we might not say a word to each other. Kiko doesn't talk. That's just the way Kiko is. But those guys I've coached at Oregon, I've had longer conversations with Kenjon [Barner], because that's what Kenjon was like. That's what different personalities are all about."
The Eagles will be off tomorrow before returning to practice on Thursday. Their second and final open practice will be on Sunday at the Linc.
