San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has clarified his sign stealing comments after a postgame confrontation with Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
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"Every team does it, some better than others," Saleh said ahead of Week 5. "And it was my way of acknowledging that these guys are really, really good at it."
Prior to the Week 4 game between the 49ers and Jaguars, Saleh said during a press conference that coaches from the Sean McVay tree have an advanced way of stealing signs and signals. The coaches he mentioned included Coen in Jacksonville, Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota, and members of their staffs.
Saleh emphasized that this system is completely legal, but his words did damage. The Jaguars used them as motivation during a 26-21 win in which the offense put up 151 rushing yards. Coen then confronted Saleh after the game by repeatedly saying "Keep my name out of your mouth." Assistant coaches and players then guided him back to the locker room.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence specifically noted that heard the comments about sign stealing. He called them free fuel as his offense prepared to face Saleh's defense.
As Saleh said after the game, he did not use the right words to convey his message about the Jaguars. He just wanted to pay a compliment to those coaches while emphasizing the fact that his team needed to remain disciplined with their in-game signals.
"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," Saleh said after the Week 4 loss. "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."
