What Jaguars' Liam Coen Really Thinks of Robert Saleh Joining AFC South

The Jacksonville Jaguars head coach has spoken up on his one-time rival joining the Tennessee Titans.

September 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans first face off next season, expect for plenty of cameras pointed at the post-game handshake.

The first Jaguars vs. Titans tilt of 2026 will be the first time Jaguars head coach Liam Coen will face new Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh since their Week 4 post-game dustup last season, and it will be one AFC South matchup with a ton of eyes on it,

Speaking this week on The Pat McAfee Show, Coen was asked about the addition of Saleh to the AFC South, and he pointed out why it is so exciting in his eyes.

Coen on Saleh

"It is awesome that he's got -- I mean, what a cool move by Tennessee. Seriously, I mean, just to get another quality defensive head coach in this league that gets their defense the run around that way," Coen said. "I mean, it's fun for us. I mean, you want to play the best. That's no different for coaches. There's no difference. You want to beat your peers. You want to be better than everybody."

"I was just texting with Robert Saleh..

It's awesome that he's in the AFC South"@LiamCoen #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/fRxAvgDZLR

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 5, 2026

Coen and the Jaguars got the best of Saleh last year when the Jaguars defeated the San Francisco 49ers on the road. This came after Saleh spoke up during the week and noted that the Jaguars have one of the NFL's best "legal sign-stealing" processes in the entire NFL. The implication of said statement led to some bad blood between the two, and Coen let him know about it after the Jaguars knocked off the 49ers.

“Liam [Coen] and his staff, a couple of guys coming from Minnesota, they’ve got a—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 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."

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh looks on in the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

This never seemed like any long-term bad blood; Coen downplayed it in the days after and noted that he and the Jaguars would take any motivation that they could find. Saleh never should have said it, but he did and the Jaguars heard it. Expect this hatchet to stay buried, even if a renewed rivalry between the Jaguars and Titans kicks off.

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