The Competitive Connection Between Zach Pascal and Nick Sirianni

The new Eagles WR and his head coach share a fierce competitive nature

PHILADELPHIA - It was hardly the best-kept secret that Nick Sirianni was fond of Zach Pascal when the two were in Indianapolis together, so when the veteran receiver signed a one-year deal in free agency with the Eagles earlier this week it was closer to checking off a box than any kind of surprise.

“Just knowing the relationship we had in Indy and being able to talk throughout the season last year was connecting and growing all the time,” Pascal said Thursday when discussing his move to Philadelphia. ”Even talking to [Sirianni] throughout this whole free agency process, it was cool. That played a big part in this right here.”

Connecting is Sirianni’s first of five core coaching values and next on the list is competition, the trait that drew the two together as Pascal developed from a lightly-regarded undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion into a significant contributor to the Colts’ passing game.

“See this hoop right here?” Pascal said, pointing to the regulation basketball net Sirianni had installed at the NovaCare Complex auditorium. “Me and Nick love to shoot. We always shooting it out. He’s a good shooter, I’m a good shooter, so we battle it out.

… I’m a competitor, and Nick is a competitor. We could sit right here, go for the water bottle (sitting next to Pascal) and I’d be like, ‘I’m going to drink this first.’ ‘No, you’re not.’ ‘Let’s do it.’ And we just vibe off of that. And that leads to the field. It brings energy to our relationship as well.”

The basketball hoop inside the auditorium at the Eagles' training facility.  :: Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagles Today

Sirianni respects Pascal’s work ethic and attention to detail, something the 27-year-old wideout will bring into a very young receiving room that features DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins, along with the embattled Jalen Reagor and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

The fifth-year pro hesitated when asked if he considers himself a leader by SI.com’s Eagles Today, however.

“I wouldn’t say I was a leader.” Pascal noted. “It was, this is how I play. They accepted how I played. If that’s being tough or having to do the dirty work and get dirty sometimes, they would accept it and it kind of trickled down to, if people are seeing me – I use the term, getting out the mud – if people see me grinding it out, they would want to grind it out.

“... The whole team is trying to grind it out for a bigger purpose. I wouldn’t say [I’m] trying to be a leader. It’s leading by example I would say.”

The Eagles’ receiving group as a whole is trying to get out of the mud with Smith as the only real foundational piece. For now, Watkins is penciled in as WR2, and Pascal, who averaged 37.5 receptions over four years with the Colts, would be the third receiver in 11 personnel.

“I go into every season not trying to think of a role, but just being able to do whatever they ask of me,” said Pascal. “If that’s to go block 50 people, then I’ll go block 52 people. If they tell me to make a couple catches, I’m going to make the spectacular catches. It’s whatever they need me to help. If it’s to guide the receivers, whatever it is, I’m available to help this team, this city, this organization in the best way possible.”

Philadelphia has tried to significantly upgrade the position on both the trade market (Calvin Ridley and Robert Woods) and free agency (Christian Kirk and Allen Robinson) in the offseason but hasn’t been able to land the big fish.

Enter Pascal, who signed for a $1.5 guarantee that could reach as high as $2.5M with incentives.

Through it all Sirianni always had his eyes on one of his favorites, texting Pascal the eyes emoji at the beginning of the process.

“I think the first text message was eyes (emoji), like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then, we were talking, but it was like inside talking. And I was like, ‘Come get me.’ And he was like, ‘I’m trying,’” Pascal said of the recruitment. “And the next thing you know, it happened.”

Now both sides of that recruiting effort want to make sure they make the other look good.

“Even as a younger kid, when somebody told me I couldn’t do something, I would always try to prove that person wrong regardless of my situation,” Pascal said. “So if I was too short and I couldn’t dunk, I’m going to find a way to dunk. I’m going to grind it out, regardless of the situation.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen