After making headlines for the wrong reasons on Sunday, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh addressed his viral post-game run-in with Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
The coaches were seen arguing after Coen told Saleh to “keep my name out of your [expletive] mouth” regarding claims of legal sign-stealing in the lead up to the Jaguars’ Week 4 win.
Despite the apparent bad blood, however, Saleh, who threatened to “end” an offended Coen, told reporters Tuesday things are “all good” between them before taking ownership for his actions and clarifying the intentions behind the accusations.
“In my heart, genuinely, I was trying to give a compliment,” Saleh said of his pre-game remarks. “I own the fact that I probably used the wrong choice of words, but however you want to word it, I mean, they’re really, really good at putting their players in position to be successful. As coaches, we’re always chasing leverage. They’re trying to have winning leverage. We’re trying to take leverage away.
“Everyone in the league is trying to find every avenue they can. As a coach watching their tape, I recognize the amount of hours that must be spent to be able to build formations and to find every little indicator they can to give their players a chance to be in a successful position.”
Saleh’s latest explanation echoes what he said last Thursday when he told the media Jacksonville is doing a “great job” with its legal and “really advanced signal-stealing type system”. Of course, it remains to be seen if it’ll be enough to dismiss future tension for Coen, who, similarly to Saleh, downplayed the post-game dust-up on Sunday.
For now, though, Saleh, after confirming the two hadn’t spoken since, appears ready to move on, and even complimented Coen on his early success in his first year. Still, it’s possible neither have heard the last of this should Coen have the last word during his Wednesday media session.
“I think Liam’s doing a hell of a job, I really do,” said Saleh. “That football team is playing and taking on his personality. They’re playing violently on the offensive line and their running backs are running really hard. I think they’re doing a really, really nice job and I just wanted to let him know [Sunday] that I appreciate the way he’s going about his business with his football team.”
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