Eagles running back DeMarco Murray reportedly had a problem with his old coach. If Murray has a problem with his new coach, it’s not because of anything the new coach has said.
New coach Doug Pederson told reporters at Thursday’s press conference held in conjunction with quarterback Sam Bradford’s contract that Pederson and Murray haven’t been in direct communication.
Asked whether Murray is happy with the Eagles, Pederson said (via Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com), “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him. I can’t tell you one way or the other if he is or not. I’d love to have him.”
Some coaches act as if they can’t talk to players at all during this portion of the offseason, but that’s not the case. While a new coach and his new players can’t have in-depth football discussions (as if anyone is policing that, anyway), they can get acquainted. Pederson and Murray apparently haven’t.
Every coach has his own style, but amid lingering chatter that Murray would like to leave, common sense suggests that, if Pederson really wants Murray, Pederson would have delivered that message to Murray, through a phone call. Without that, Pederson saying “I’d love to have him” could essentially mean “I need to say I’d love to have him because I’d love to maximize what I get for him.”