Saleh accuses Jaguars of advanced sign-stealing ahead of 49ers clash

During a Thursday press conference, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said he believes the Jacksonville Jaguars have an advanced, signal-stealing-type system under head coach Liam Coen ahead of Sunday’s game with the 49ers. Saleh described the Jaguars’ approach as legally permissible and noted that Coen is part of a coaching tree that includes Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell, suggesting the system helps Jacksonville put itself in advantageous situations. “Liam and his staff, a couple 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. “So we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve gotta 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 [Vikings coach] Kevin O’Connell to all of those guys, they all do it,” Saleh added. “There’s challenges. They’re going to catch us in some situations where they have the advantage and we’ve just got to play sound, fundamental football and do our best to out-execute them.”

When asked about Saleh’s comments, Coen offered a blunt response on Friday, saying that his mindset is strictly on Sunday’s game. “I’m not going to speak on that fully right now,” Coen told reporters Friday. “We’ve got 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 then elaborated on what his coaching staff does to put the team in a position to be most successful on game day. “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, motions, shifts, pre-snap,” Coen said. “Those are the things 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. “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.”

The two comments come as Jacksonville and San Francisco prepare for a high-profile interstate meeting this weekend. The exchange underscored how teams are increasingly focused on signals, formations and pre-snap cues as part of game-planning, while officials have reiterated that any legitimate signaling work remains within legal bounds. The game is a test of both teams’ ability to adapt to complex tendencies and disguises that can emerge late in the season.