Things got heated in the postgame handshake. That was the exchange between New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen moments after the Jacksonville Jaguars sealed their 26-21 win on Thursday Night Football. The incident occurred immediately after the final whistle. It highlighted the tension that’s already building between the two high-profile coaches perceived to be the leading candidates for the Jaguars’ full-time head coaching position this offseason.
At his weekly news cut today, Thursday, Saleh had some very interesting words today. For instance, he praised the Jaguars’ ability to “legally steal signals” from their opponents. This comment set off a firestorm, resulting in a very public and ugly postgame confrontation. Coen did not get to hear Saleh’s remarks from his own media availability on Friday. Rather, he instead went deep on the downright intimidating 49ers defense.
By the time the game finished, the emotions were boiling over on the pitch. Tempers flared further when Saleh got into a heated verbal exchange with Jaguars offensive tackle Walker Little. Someone from the 49ers staff rushed in to grab him and hold him back. On the other side, Coen was stopped by Jaguars center Robert Hainsey, who broke in during the RPO exchange.
Since that confrontation, though, Coen has refused to talk about the incident in detail. And when pushed on the details, he replied, “We’re going to reserve that for ourselves.”
Nonetheless, on Friday, 49ers head football coach Kyle Shanahan came to clear up Saleh’s remarks. He continued by pointing out that Saleh was in fact giving a huge nod to the Jaguars for their ridiculous schemes on coaching. “I don’t think you should be that sensitive about it but it is what it is,” Shanahan remarked. He further added, “We don’t totally care if coaches are pissed off,” indicating that competition and rivalry are part of professional sports.
Speaking to the media after the game, Coen went deeper in his postgame discourse, stressing the importance of preparation and analysis process in coaching. “Those are the things that 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,” he explained.
Trevor Lawrence, quarterback for the Jaguars, admitted that there is probably a motivational angle to Saleh’s comments. “Definitely you use everything you can [for motivation] and if they’re going to give you free fuel, you take it,” Lawrence noted. To that end, he encouraged coaches to benefit from learnings revealed through signals. To be sure, it’s the players’ performance on the field that truly determines the game’s outcome.
That could explain why Saleh rarely speaks to reporters after games. So that’s why his remarks at a news conference last Thursday are particularly worth caring about. As everything plays out, both of these coaches are connected at the hip and will be judged by fans and pundits.
Saleh elaborated on signal-stealing strategies, shining the light that high coaches Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell are often in the same house. He lauded their talent for generating key insight on rival teams.
Even 49ers’ star Yetur Gross-Matos was along for the ride for that feedback circle between Saleh and Coen. He withdrew from commenting further, calling for the discussion to center on what would happen on the court rather than on court drama.
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