Robert Saleh's Bizarre Comments Creates Intrigue For 49ers Clash

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The game is on, it appears.

There was already plenty at stake for the Jacksonville Jaguars entering their Week 4 matchup against the 3-0 San Francisco 49ers. The need to prove themselves against a top-tier opponent, learning how to win on the road, and the chance to go 3-1 entering Monday Night Football vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, though, there is a little more juice behind the battle thanks to some odd comments from 49ers' defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Saleh's Comments

“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."

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh watches from the sidelines in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

“They’re almost elite in that regard. That whole entire tree. From Sean [McVay], to Kevin O’Connell, to all those guys, they all do it. So, there’s challenges. They’re gonna catch us in some situations where they have the advantage and we just gotta play good, sound, fundamental football and do our best to execute.”

The Fallout

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was naturally asked about Saleh's comments on Friday morning. The normally open and extremely transparent Coen opted to take the high road and not dive too much into the comments, or what he thinks of Saleh making them. That alone is like evidence that yeah, Saleh struck a chord with the Jaguars' head coach.

“Yeah, I'm not going to speak on that fully right now, have a huge game for us coming up this weekend. We've got a great defense that we've got to go and attack and that's where our whole mindset and mentality is right now," Coen said.

When asked about his level of surprise to Saleh going as far as to say the Jaguars legally steal defensive signs, Coen again deflected. Again, this is a coach who to date has been willing to talk about anything and everything, positive or negative -- much more so than any other Jaguars head coach in recent memory.

“Again, we're really trying to focus on a darn good defense that we have to go and try to go attack and offensively get better, about us getting better, putting it together for four quarters and trying to create some explosives in the pass game, some of those things that we're trying to get better at as an offense. So, that's where the focus is right now.”

Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen coaches along the sideline during the first quarter between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday September 21, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coen gave a mature and measured response. And if the Jaguars win on Sunday with an impressive offensive showing, perhaps he decides to dip his toe into the waters of firing back.

Coen was asked about the art of sign stealing and what Saleh is actually attempting to imply, and Coen's answer was clear for all to interpret: the Jaguars will not apologize for working hard to find every kind of legal edge they can.

“Yeah, I mean, we have kind of typically by formation, by game plan, by working really hard as a coaching staff throughout the week, trying to get indicators by your formation, motion, shift, pre-snap, those are the things that you're trying to do as a coach if you're trying to put your players in the best position to be successful, whether it's attacking man or zone coverage with your formations, motions and concepts," Coen said.

"So, it's a lot of hard work that goes into game planning and trying to put your players in the best position to be successful.”

And that essentially is the overlying message when it comes to Saleh's comments. Perhaps Saleh is attempting to play mind games by letting the Jaguars know that he is aware of their ability to pick up on signs. Perhaps he has sour grapes from not landing the Jaguars' head coaching job.

And even perhaps he is still holding onto the fact that his last game as a head coach came against the Minnesota Vikings, who are a McVay-tree team that staffed current Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski.

Regardless, Coen opted to keep his comments to himself on Friday -- something he does not do often. For Coen to go into put your head down and work mode, it is likely fair to say that this game now means a little bit more.

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