McCoy: Guys Made Too Many Excuses

A somber LeSean McCoy stood at his locker Monday afternoon and voiced strong support for the coach who drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft.

As one of the key building blocks going forward, McCoy reiterated his belief that the Eagles’ struggles were not Andy Reid’s fault. In the process, he was critical of his teammates.

Asked how many Eagles players let Reid down, McCoy said, “Tons, tons of guys. I think guys kind of notice that now that he’s gone. …I think a lot of guys realize the lack of focus, the lack of heart in certain games, in certain situations, it’s in full effect now. Now you may feel sorrow for coach, but it all comes down to your performance, so you should have probably thought about that during the season, during the game.”

The running back has said multiple times this season that he’s had one-on-one conversations with Reid, in which McCoy’s apologized for letting the coach down. Clearly, he felt some of his teammates should have been doing the same thing.

“I think guys made a lot of excuses,” McCoy said. “Guys maybe weren’t playing up to par, guys weren’t focusing enough, guys making a certain amount of money, not putting out. So I think guys were looking for excuses.”

Did the players leave it all on the line for their coach?

“I don’t think they did,” McCoy said. “I don’t think some players did at all. That’s obvious. You see some of the scores, you see some of the plays, you see some of the stuff happening. You don’t see Coach Reid out there just making errors like that. I think some of the things you’re asking me are obvious. Did guys lay it down on the line? I mean, you see the games.”

McCoy said he loves Reid like a Dad and didn’t want him to leave, but the running back closed his media session by trying to look at the positives a new coach might bring.

“I will say this, bringing in a new coach, I think things will be different – kind of getting rid of all the losses and all the bad plays, things like that,” McCoy said. “Going to a new coach, a new direction, things probably will be different because you want to impress the new coach. Guys want to show the first impression that I work hard, I’m playing for you. …Once things gets started in a new direction, with a new coach, I think guys will play a little differently because of something new.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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