Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, 49ers DC Robert Saleh held back in heated exchange days after sign-stealing comments


Things got incredibly tense on the field at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen had to be physically separated as they were leaving the field. While it’s not clear exactly what sparked the incident after the Jaguars’ 26-21 win, it came just .

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The altercation was caught very briefly by the Fox broadcast after the game. Coen was being walked away by center Robert Hainsey and another coach, while offensive lineman Walker Little appeared to be chirping at Saleh, too. Both coaches were clearly being held back to some degree.

Sunday’s incident came just days after Saleh started talking unprompted about the Jaguars’ sign-stealing system under Coen. Repeatedly, though, under NFL rules. Teams are able to use TV tape and all-22 film in an effort to figure out hand signals and other codes, and have their own staff positioned in the press box to try and break down signals.

“Liam [Coen] 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 on Thursday. “They do a great job with it. They formation you, they 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, that whole entire tree from Sean [McVay] to Kevin O’Connell to all those guys. They all do it.”

Saleh, though, didn’t publicly pinpoint who the Jaguars and other teams were stealing the signs from.

“I don’t really know, and that’s the ultimate trick,” he . “Whether it’s people from the sideline or whether it’s our individual hand signals, whatever nugget they can find, they catch it, and they always happen to find themselves in good situations based on the coverages showed. And there’s nothing illegal about it. I’m not suggesting that. It’s just you can tell that they’ve got a system that’s getting them into a very advantageous position multiple times during the course of a game.”

Coen, in his first season as a head coach in the league this fall, declined to address Saleh’s comments on Friday when asked repeatedly. He downplayed the postgame interaction with Saleh on Sunday night, too.

“Not a big deal. We’ll keep that between us,” he said.

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The Jaguars led for most of the game, thanks in part to a huge outing from Travis Etienne Jr. He ran for 124 yards and had a 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to get them on the board. The Jaguars took a 17-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, and then put up 10 unanswered points in the third quarter. Parker Washington ran back a punt return 87 yards for a touchdown in the period, which put them up by 12 at the time.

Brock Purdy, back from toe and shoulder injuries, went 22-of-38 for 309 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the 49ers. Christian McCaffrey had 49 yards on 17 carries. He led the team with 92 receiving yards and a touchdown on six catches, too. The loss was the first of the season for San Francisco.

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Trevor Lawrence went 21-of-31 for 174 yards and a touchdown for Jacksonville. Brian Thomas had 49 yards on five catches to go with Etienne’s big day on the ground. The Jaguars also sit at 3-1 on the season.



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