Former Eagle DeSean Jackson on Chip Kelly’s firing: ‘Bad karma comes back on you’

DeSean Jackson was at the top of his game two years ago when he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles, one of many bewildering personnel moves by the team under then-coach Chip Kelly.

Kelly was fired late last month by the Eagles, who finished the 2015 season at 7-9 and out of the playoffs for the second straight year. Meanwhile, Jackson’s current team, the Washington Redskins, appears to be on the rise, playing in this weekend’s wild-card round of the playoffs after winning the NFC East at 9-7.

Jackson was recently asked by MMQB for his thoughts on Kelly’s firing. The star receiver wasn’t shy about expressing his displeasure back when he was released by the Eagles,and he didn’t hold back this time around either.

“I’m a firm believer that bad karma comes back on you,” Jackson said. “When you ruin a team like that, you do things to peoples’ families, you release people, you trade people, you get rid of good players who build something with the community, with the fans, with the kids — to have a guy come in and change up the team like that, I just believe in karma.”

Jackson had a Pro Bowl year during Kelly’s first season with the Eagles in 2013, setting a career high with 1,332 yards and tying a career high with nine touchdowns. The team went 10-6 and won the NFC East before losing in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

But Jackson was released during the off-season, shortly after NJ.com published a story suggesting that he had gang ties, something he has denied. Kelly went on to make numerous surprising personnel moves, which Jackson said he doesn’t hold against his former coach.

“I don’t have any bad words to say about him as far as what he feels he needs on his roster,” Jackson said. “But the guys that were on that roster created something special, from Jeremy Maclin to LeSean McCoy to Trent Cole to Todd Herremans and myself and Brandon Boykin; it goes on and on and on. When we were there we were a brotherhood. So for everyone to go their separate ways and to see how it all ended up, it’s a very sad thing.”