What may or may not have started as gamesmanship ended with some jawing between San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
Heading into the matchup, Saleh discussed the system for decoding defensive signals, saying the Jaguars’ staff is “almost elite” at picking up tells and using formation and motion to tilt the board.
Initially, Coen brushed it off. But after Jacksonville walked into Levi’s Stadium and left with a 26–21 win, the subtext finally boiled over when the cameras caught the two coaches barking at each other as they headed off the field.
“Keep my name outta your mouth,” Coen can be heard saying during the exchange. Let’s rewind and look at how this all escalated.
Here’s What Was Said Leading Up to the Game
Getty49ers’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh claimed that Liam Coen and the Jaguars coaching staff has a signal-stealing system in place.
On Thursday, Saleh, stressing that nothing the Jags do is against the rules, discussed how San Francisco was going to have to tighten communication on defense to avoid tipping any coverages.
“Liam and his staff, a couple of guys coming from Minnesota, they’ve got legally, a really advanced signal stealing type system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation,” Saleh said.
“They do a great job with it. They formation you to just try to find any nugget they can. So, we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve got to be great with our communication to combat some of the tells that we might give on the field. They’re almost elite in that regard.”
Coen’s response the next day was measured. “I’m not going to speak on that fully right now,” the Jags coach said. “Have a huge game for us coming up this weekend, got a great defense that we’ve got to go and attack and that’s where our whole mindset and mentality is right now.”
It’s clear Coen was bothered by Saleh’s comments, though.
Cameras Captured Heated Exchange Between Robert Saleh & Liam Coen
After the game, cameras briefly showed Coen and Saleh exchanging words as they left the field. Jaguars center Robert Hainsey grabbed Coen, and a 49ers staffer pulled Saleh in the other direction.
Several players milled around, and there appeared to be no handshake between the two coaches. The scene lasted only seconds, but it showed Coen was clearly still miffed.
“It was not a big deal,” Coen told reporters after the game when asked about the incident. “We’ll just keep that between us.”
Jags QB Trevor Lawrence, for his part, admitted the chatter got his attention. “If you’re going to give me free fuel, I’ll take it,” he said after the win.
There was also a heated moment on the penultimate snap. With Lawrence in victory formation, Niners linebacker Fred Warner tried to knife through the A-gap and rolled into Ezra Cleveland’s ankle, drawing visible ire from Jacksonville’s sideline. Moments later, Coen was still hot — and the back-and-forth with Saleh began.
Regardless of how Coen and company handle their business, San Francisco has a lot to clean up in all three phases if they want to be seen as serious contenders.
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