Head Coach Andy Reid opening remarks: "We are very excited to announce that (RB) LeSean McCoy has signed a new deal with us. He'll be with us here for a few years. We're extremely pleased to have him be part of the Philadelphia Eagles and the city of Philadelphia. I'd just like to complement Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, and also (general manager) Howie Roseman for working the deal out, the details of the deal. They worked extremely well together. We're very excited to build from within this football team and keep our great players here and part of this organization and city."
RB LeSean McCoy opening remarks: "I want to start out by thanking the Lord for even making this possible for me. It's been a blessing to have the opportunity to be here for a while with a great organization with great coaches. I want to thank Howie for the great negotiations and really fighting hard with Rosenhaus Sports in order to get this thing done. I want to thank (Chairman/CEO) Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to be part of the Philadelphia Eagles team for quite a bit. The biggest thing is that my whole life, I've always thought about being a professional football player and working hard to this point where I sign a major contract to be with a great organization.
"It's a blessing. I want to thank my family for sticking with me – my mom and my dad. My older brother for just being a great role model since I was a little boy and showing me the ropes, not just being a former NFL player but just doing the right things and not getting in trouble, going to college, doing the right things. I'm just so happy and so excited. I just had a son, so it's a blessing to have a little guy in this world and I'm trying to do the right things for him.
"To my agents, Jason and Drew Rosenhaus, we have had a crazy relationship and we've broken up time and time again but we've always made up. I want to thank you guys for being loyal since day one of my rookie year when I slipped to the second round, and you always told me hard work will pay off. I just kept plugging along and we're here now, so I just want to thank you guys."
On how the deal was able to get done: Howie Roseman: "I think it starts when we sat down and made our offseason plan. We decided to focus on re-signing our own players and keeping a bulk of the team intact for now and going into the future. Obviously, LeSean was a big part of that. We felt like it was really important to get that done and try to get that done quickly, so we were going to be aggressive about it. He's a part of the family and his style and his play are so important to the organization and this team. I know I speak for a lot of us when I say that we're excited that he's going to be here for a long time."
On whether McCoy ever thought the deal would ever be a possibility: LeSean McCoy: "After the season, me and my agents and family thought that there was a possibility that I could get a deal done. I love this team, and I'm kind of a hometown kid from Harrisburg which is like an hour and a half away. Nothing could be better than being here for the long term. Once you kind of realize the feeling of wanting to be here for the long term, we contacted the team and it was a mutual feeling. So, it kicked off from there."
On why it has been so important to build from within: Andy Reid: "We have good, young players here who enjoy playing for the city of Philadelphia. If you're going to be accepted into this city, there's a certain attitude that you need to bring. We felt like we had a great nucleus of guys, LeSean being one of that group. He does it all, so this isn't a one-dimensional running back. This is a running back that can not only carry the football for you but can catch the football as well as the wide receivers and he can block and loves playing the game. That brings great energy to this football team."
On what he learned from watching WR DeSean Jackson go through his contract situation: McCoy: "Me and DeSean are great friends, and everybody handles things differently. I don't really want to get involved with other guys contract situations or problems. We never really got into it about that, and me as a person and just the way I was raised, I try and do things the right way. I thought that the team knew that I wanted a new deal.
"I go out every week and work hard in practice and in the games playing my heart out. I didn't want to act the fool and do the wrong thing because I wasn't raised like that. I want to do the right things by showing up and being a team guy, all the things that I really am. It wasn't like I had to act like I was this different person, I was just being myself."
On whether he worried that his contract situation would escalate to that point: "Like I said, I think everyone is different and everybody does things differently. I can only relate it to myself when I say that I don't think it would've affected me only because we didn't get to that point. It's hard to say that whether it would've affected me or not because it didn't get to that point. I can't really say whether it would have affected me or it wouldn't have. We got a good deal done, and I'm happy. If it didn't work out, I would still try and do things the right way."
On why the deal did not get done this year: "I would just say maybe it was the timing of everything. I think it's the right timing of this deal, and during the season so much is going on that it's hard for a player to really focus on your contract and try to play. I'm one of those guys where I want to be fully focused on football, and Coach Reid can tell you that. We talked a couple of times about that and he said those things will take care of themselves, and they did in the right way and in the right time. So, to answer your question, I think that the timing of everything worked out."
On how much Reid talked to McCoy about this whole process: Reid: "We talk all the time, which I'm fortunate to do all the time. Howie talks to the players. We try to keep everything up front and real and honest with them. I think that has proven out by what's taken place with this offseason. Communication is the way to go in all phases in life, and you have to be able to communicate especially in relationships. You have to be able to do that. LeSean is a very honest guy.
"He puts it out there and we know he loves to play the game and we want to make sure he can do that to the best of his ability without getting things too cluttered. As many distractions as you can eliminate, that's good. I thought Drew and Jason handled it well with him and explained it. Howie's relationship with Drew and Jason is tremendous, so he was in a good situation where he has family support. He has a brother (LeRon) who played in the league for three or four years and understands the game. He has a good supporting cast with Ish being a good guy and helps take care of him, too, and gives him advice. He has good people around him."
On Roseman working with Rosenhaus Sports to get three separate deals done: Roseman: "I think that Drew and Jason deserve a lot of credit for the way that they handle these situations. We both really understood the important thing that these are all really good players here. Obviously they want to do what's best for their players but they also want to keep them in situations where they can thrive, and they deserve a lot of credit for recognizing that. All of these things take time and there's a process, but we're really excited about the results and working with them. We're excited about it."
On how much foresight was needed for Roseman to sign all of the free agents last year while taking care of their own players this offseason: "I think that is one of the struggles with this job is you're trying to keep an eye on the future and trying to put the best team together now as well. We're fortunate enough that we have players that we want to keep here for a very long time. I think that's what we have tried to do here is mix some of the veterans that we got last offseason when we thought we had an opportunity to add some new players, but also want to take care of the players we have had here who are here for the long term and do the right thing. Hopefully, that's what we did here."
On how important it is for McCoy to be paid among the highest running backs in the league: McCoy: "Both of these guys can tell you that I'm one of the best (joking). It's just a blessing that we got a good deal like that. I have to give a lot of credit to Rosenhaus Sports and those guys who worked that deal together with Howie. It's a team thing and they felt like I should be paid among those guys. That's what happened."
On whether previous deals given to running backs set a precedent: "I think so. I think a lot of the deals are structured by peers. If he is making this, a lot of the deals will be structured around that. It's always kind of similar, the numbers, and there's a lot of good backs. I'm just honored to be in the range financially with those guys."
On how much of the emotion he feels is relief: "It feels good just to wake up tomorrow and go to work knowing that the deal is done and it's over with. Just thinking about what could have happened, and like I said before, I'm not a guy to try and hold out and do this and do that. I try and do things the right way. I'm just happy that everything is done and over with, and I can go to work happy tomorrow and enjoy myself."
On whether he thought about the what-if's as far as injuries or other circumstances: "I never really think that ever. As a running back, you're always going to get banged up quite a bit. Each game, I go out there and play hard. It's a physical sport, and I never had those kinds of thoughts going into a game or after a game."
On how important it is to go right back to work knowing that his teammates and the world will look at him differently: "I love to compete, and that's the biggest thing with me and my teammates in the locker room. Everyone is so tight from the defense to the special teams and the offense. We're all in it together. A lot of guys on this team have nice deals, so they're in the same boat as I am. They'll come in and work hard. We have one main goal. Sure, guys like new contracts and stats but the main goal is to win a championship and I think we're all on the same page. Howie and Coach Reid have done a nice job getting a good group of guys to go out and compete. That's the main goal is to bring a championship to Philadelphia."
On how exciting it is to give a long term deal to a running back who is only 23 years old: Roseman: "It's exciting because we are trying to build for the long term. We're trying to bring a championship to the city of Philadelphia and we're going to do whatever we can to do that, but on the same token, we're going to try and keep building it and sustain some success. Keeping him here is a big piece of that."
On whether McCoy talked to former Eagles RB Brian Westbrook during this process: McCoy: "For sure. Not only about contracts, but me and Brian talk and text all the time. As we got closer to the deal, we talked quite a bit about the contracts. The biggest thing he told me was to not let it stress me out too much, and he felt like the organization here is great and will take care of me. He always said the good thing about it is you can go up and talk to Howie and Andy and Mr. Lurie, and that plays a big role.
"A lot of times, you just go through your agent to see what's going on, and at the same time, I can talk to Howie and I'd go up to Coach Reid's office and we talked about certain things. That was the biggest thing with Brian, that we played in an organization where you could actually go up and speak to him and work things out."
