National Football League

Rex: Bills stunned when Eagles offered McCoy, trade done in 30 minutes

Published Mar. 24, 2015 10:04 p.m. ET

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Some trades take days, even weeks to come together. LeSean McCoy to the Bills was not one of those.

"It happened really quick," new Bills coach Rex Ryan said Tuesday from the owners meetings. "We were in organization meetings, all the coordinators, the GM, Russ Brandon, the owners. Going over plans for free agency, what we want the team to look like.

"All of a sudden, there's a call from Philadelphia (that GM Doug Whaley took) and 30 minutes later the trade is done."

That deal sent the star running back from the Eagles to Buffalo, with linebacker Kiko Alonso heading to Philly.

"This was an opportunity that came up, that's it. We weren't so structured that we can't allow this to happen. It didn't take us long to come up with an answer."

And his reaction to McCoy being available?

"We were just kind of like stunned there a little bit. We were like, `Really? Like wow. Let's just take it from there.' Obviously we were interested. ... We knew it wasn't going to be cheap by any stretch and losing a player like Kiko Alonso is obviously a steep price. But we felt really good about it."

As for the Eagles' side of things, they are still dealing with the blowback from the trade itself -- and subsequent moves like shipping starting quarterback Nick Foles to St. Louis for oft-injured and much more expensive quarterback Sam Bradford.

So when owner Jeff Lurie stood in the hot sun before two dozen reporters, he did what his head coach has been doing for the last few weeks -- took plenty of heat.

Lurie, who gave Chip Kelly final say on all personnel decisions over general manager Howie Roseman this offseason, discussed the front office maneuvers for the first time this offseason.

"I've lived through a lot of division championships, a lot of playoff appearances, a lot of final four appearances," Lurie said. "But our goal is further than that. We want to deliver a Super Bowl.

"It's very difficult to get from good to great. It's a gamble to go from good to great because you could go from good to mediocre with changes. Chip had a vision of how we could get from good to great."

But owner and head coach are apparently not on the same page on all things strategy.

Kelly, who will talk to the media on Wednesday when NFC coaches are available, said after the McCoy trade that money was the biggest factor. Lurie indicated otherwise Tuesday.

"You've got to let a coach try to bring in the players that fit best what he's all about, to maximize what he's trying to accomplish," Lurie said.

As for a power struggle between Kelly and Roseman, Lurie praised the GM as a team player who is "selfless" and only wants what is best for the organization.

When Kelly determined that having power over personnel needed to be in the coach's repertoire, Lurie didn't hesitate to provide it.

"After thinking about it, I just felt the best way to align ourselves was to try to do this in a relatively rational, seamless way, with Chip taking over scouting and integrating into every aspect of the operation," Lurie said. "There was a vision that I wanted to support. That was all my call. In order to maximize Chip, this was the best way to go."

While the McCoy deal happened quickly, Kelly had his eye on Bradford for a long while.

Indeed, Lurie and Kelly discussed acquiring the expensive (just under $13 million in 2015) quarterback who has suffered two torn ACLs since last playing in a game, for weeks.

Why take that risk? Because, Lurie said, the Eagles believe Bradford is that rarity you must have to win in today's NFL.

"The only model that correlates with big success in the NFL is having a Hall of Fame franchise quarterback," Lurie said. "You can put any system around that quarterback and you can rationalize that structure whether it's the structure the Patriots have, Seattle has.

"It's so hard to get a franchise quarterback. It sets the ceiling on what you can be as a team. Do you want to take gambles or not?"

Obviously, Kelly and Lurie aren't afraid of doing so.

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