Chip: It’s Not Yabba-Dabba-Do Time

Chip Kelly was in a playful, stone-busting mood as he met with reporters for the final time this week.

It’s getaway day for the players. Minicamps come to a close today, and they’ll have 35 days off before having to report back for training camp. Don’t expect Kelly to be peeling out of the parking lot, though, when the day comes to a close.

“I’ll go home and see my family and spend some time with them but I don’t look at this as I need a break from what we’ve just done. This is our life’s choice and we enjoy it, he said. “This isn’t ike Fred Flinstone with the ‘Yabba-Dabba-Do’ and we’re trying to get out of work, you know what I mean? It’s another day and we’ll finish up with some things before we get some time off. But I think anybody that’s in our situation that coaches isn’t like, ‘I can’t wait to get out of there.’ Most are like, ‘I can’t wait to get back in there.'”

Kelly revealed a couple logistical items as it pertains to training camp. The players will report on July 25. And the team will hold joint practices with the Patriots in New England prior to their preseason game on August 15.

In-between the close of minicamp and the start of training camp can be an anxious time for coaches, worried that their players might get into trouble during their down time. Kelly was asked if he talks to his guys about how to conduct themselves.

“They’re grown men. They understand the difference between right and wrong. I think the league has an extremely strict policy on that, you look at examples that go on within the league when it comes to how you are supposed to behave and be a good person way from here,” said Kelly. “A lot of that we take into consideration when we acquire these guys and select these guys, that’s a real big important thing to us is that, I don’t want a bunch of guys to worry about when we’re away, worry about how they are going to behave. I think they understand that anything they do has ramifications whether it’s positive or negative, and they have to understand how that affects not only themselves but the team.”

LeSean’s “beautiful mind”

Kelly had some fun talking about LeSean McCoy. He was asked about the back’s recent comments regarding the decision to cut DeSean Jackson and the message it sent.

“I don’t send messages to other players by how I deal with other players,” said Kelly. “And how LeSean McCoy interprets things is…LeSean has a beautiful mind. Sometimes trying to analyze that mind, I don’t wrap myself around that too much or bother myself too much with that. However LeSean interprets things is how LeSean interprets things.

“You heard [the term ‘buying in’]  from the beautiful mind. Talk to him. He’ll give you a lot about every subject. He can tell you who is going to start on other teams in the league, he can tell you a lot of things. I enjoy talking to LeSean. He’s the best.”