Kenjon Barner comes to Chip Kelly’s defense after recent backlash

Former Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly has been in the news cycle quite a bit over the past six months.

The most notable event occurred when Kelly made that somewhat surprising leap from head coach of the UCLA Bruins to take over as the new offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, a move rarely seen at the Power 5 level of college football. But this past week, Kelly saw his name in circulation again after a pair of his former players — Philadelphia Eagles greats DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy — discussed him on their new podcast “The 25/10 Show” in an episode titled ‘The Truth About Chip Kelly.’

Long story short: the Eagles are not big fans of their former coach.

The two discussed the frustrations of Kelly’s coaching style and roster management, but the most scathing comments came with the insinuation that Kelly had a problem interacting with black athletes and often treated them differently. Jackson stated that Kelly often felt uncomfortable dealing with black players on the team, and showed favoritism toward the white athletes.

This isn’t something Kenjon Barner or Jonathan Stewart – two players who spent time with Chip Kelly on the Oregon Ducks – could agree with. This week, both former Ducks spoke on “The Sco-ing Long Podcast” about their experiences with Kelly and their thoughts on his coaching style.

Last week, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy called out Chip Kelly, demeaning his coaching style and insinuating that he had difficulty interacting with black athletes.@KBDeuce4 And @JonathanStewar1 played for Chip at Oregon, and discussed their thoughts on the former UO coach.

(@BleavNetwork) pic.twitter.com/qpZJ9hdwTl

— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) May 15, 2024

“I never felt to me that Chip Kelly didn’t like black people or had a problem with black athletes,” said Barner, who also played for Kelly on the Eagles. ‘I don’t believe the story that he doesn’t like black people. I don’t know if that’s true, and I would never agree with it, because I know what that man was to me.”

While anyone who has spent time around Kelly will tell you that he has his quirks and is sometimes difficult to get along with, Barner maintains that this in no way means he has racist tendencies or issues with black athletes. From his time playing under Kelly as an 18-year-old to their experience at the NFL level together, Barner says Kelly has never changed.

“I’ve had the opportunity to know Chip since I was 18 years old,” Barner said. “The same man I met then was the same man I played for in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. I know him like no difference. So to me he was the same man, but to someone who just met him, he will seem different .

Stewart, on the other hand, spent just one year with Kelly when he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon under Mike Bellotti. He says Kelly was always a stand-up guy who was true to his word, but the tendencies that led to his success at the college level didn’t necessarily translate to the NFL level.

“When I heard things about what he was like as an NFL coach, I thought, ‘Well, this is different than college,’” Stewart said. “You can’t really be a college coach in the NFL because you’re dealing with grown men who have kids at home, who pay taxes, and who have food on the table, so you can’t just somehow deal with people talk and expect the same outcome.

One of the bigger points of contention that both Jackson and McCoy had with Kelly was his roster management. During his brief stint in Philadelphia, one of Kelly’s first moves was to release Jackson the year after his Pro Bowl season. Shortly thereafter, he also traded McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso.

On the surface, these moves may come as a surprise, but Barner sees the logic in them for a head coach trying to establish himself.

“If I’m a coach and I feel like someone is a detriment to my team, I have to make a decision,” Barner said. “People may not like it or may not agree with it, but if I feel like I can’t be the coach that I need to be, or if someone stands in my way of being the coach of this team or goes against my message, then I have to do what I have to do. This is business.”

Depending on your experience with Kelly, your opinions may differ about his coaching tactics and his leadership qualities. But from a few players who have known Kelly for a long time, and one who played under him at multiple stops, there doesn’t seem to be any concern about his character or his motives.