Ajayi 'blessed' to land with Doug Pederson, Eagles after Dolphins trade

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi entered the 2017 season as the Miami Dolphins' bell cow, but he's just fine with not having that role now.

Ajayi was traded to the Eagles on Halloween. He spent his first three-and-a-half seasons with the Dolphins -- including a Pro Bowl 2016 campaign -- before being shipped away for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Before his 2017 campaign began, Dolphins coach Adam Gase called Ajayi the team's 'bell cow.' Four hundred and sixty-five yards, zero touchdowns and seven games later, he was wearing a different uniform.

But Ajayi says it wasn't hard to get used to his complementary role in the Eagles' potent offense.

"It wasn't hard to adjust," he said Monday at Super Bowl Opening Night. "I just played my role and now I'm playing in the Super Bowl, so I can't complain."

The 24-year-old from London, England, is much more productive on a yards-per-carry basis since landing in Philadelphia. He averaged 3.4 yards per tote this season in Miami, while he picked up 5.8 yards per carry with the Eagles.

Los Angeles Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree (52) tackles former Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi (23) on November 20 at the LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI

"I've just been blessed to be here with coach P [Doug Pederson]. Calling the plays that he has called and just running them hard."

"It's obviously a different scheme, so I've been blessed to run behind a great offensive line as well and they've just been doing a great job making holes for me. And just breaking tackles after contact."

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson speaks to the media at Super Bowl LII Opening Night Monday at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

The running back's relationship with Gase seemed a bit sour from the get-go. The Dolphins coach left Ajayi at home in Week 1 of the 2016 season after the running back was disgruntled because he wasn't named the team's starter.

Ajayi later credited the move for making him who he became as a running back.

"Week 1 made me who I am," he told reporters in July. "It happened, and it kind of, I would say, maybe set a fire. Or just kind of reset in my mind, 'OK, what do you want to do?'"

But the discontent from Gase didn't end there. As the Dolphins' season rolled in a steep decline, the second-year coach shoveled some blame for the team's offensive woes on his running back.

"We've got to stop trying to hit home runs all the time," Gase said of Ajayi, four days before the trade. "How about take the four or five yards that we're going to get? It comes down to everybody doing their job. If we actually start doing that, it might help."

"It's on the running back. Do your job. That's what you've got to do. It's not hard."

SiriusXM reported on the day of his trade that sources said Ajayi was "extremely combative" with the Dolphins' coaching staff in the weeks leading up to the transaction. Those interactions involved verbal confrontations, according to the report.

One day after sending his former "bell cow" to another team, Gase said that it was time for the Dolphins to "move on."

"I think it was time for us to move on," Gase told reporters. "We'd had conversations about kind of what we were going to do down the road. We felt like this was a good opportunity. We put some feelers out to see where other teams were at, and we've got some younger players there that we feel like we were going to move forward with and that was kind of the decision we came to."

Miami ended up uncovering a diamond in sophomore running back Kenyan Drake, who rattled off 883 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 165 touches in 2017. That production included two games with at least 100 rushing yards and three contests with more than 100 yards from scrimmage.

Ajayi simply opted to take a sip out of his drink when asked about Gase on Monday.

The running back also offered his thoughts on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady earning his sixth Super Bowl ring against the Eagles Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

"I don't know when he's going to get that sixth ring," he said. "I don't think it's anytime soon. But if he does, that's a lot of rings. That's a lot of respect."