The San Francisco 49ers defense has returned to its past glory under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, but its first big test without Nick Bosa will come against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4. With quarterback Trevor Lawrence and new head coach Liam Coen leading the way, there are plenty of things to worry about heading into Sunday’s game including a twist that no one expected.
Saleh discussed Coen’s arrival to Jacksonville during his weekly press conference on Thursday and while his comments started with the usual coachspeak, it took a strange turn when he suggested that Coen and his staff have a sign-stealing system in place to help their offense.
“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 via John Shipley of SI. “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.
From [Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay] to [Minnesota Vikings head coach] 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.”
Robert Saleh’s Strange Comments Create Rift Before Week 4 Matchup vs. Jaguars
Saleh’s comments are bizarre considering his boss, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, is also part of the McVay-Shanahan coaching tree that was created with the Washington Commanders in the early 2010s. Saleh also employed Mike LaFleur as his offensive coordinator during his time with the New York Jets, which makes him trying to pull back the curtain on McVay and his proteges even stranger.
But whatever Coen is doing, it appears to be working. Coen got his first big break as the offensive coordinator under McVay in Los Angeles in 2022, took a one-year detour to the collegiate ranks at Kentucky and returned as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024. Coen brought the best out of Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and the rest of the Buccaneers offense to help them rank third in points and fourth in total offense last season and has now been tasked with helping Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, reach his potential.
Through three games, Coen’s offense ranks 14th in points per game but is eighth in total offense. The Jaguars’ rushing attack also ranks fifth in rushing yards and a respectable 13th in passing yards.
When asked what exactly the Jaguars are doing, Saleh didn’t give a clear answer and admitted it was nothing illegal. But without Bosa at his disposal, he’ll need to do everything he can to make his defense successful as he tries to stop the Jaguars on Sunday.