"Someone struck a chord": 49ers' Kyle Shanahan addresses Robert Saleh's fiery exchange with Jaguars HC Liam Coen

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's controversial "signal-stealing-type system" comment on the Jacksonville Jaguars last week triggered coach Liam Coen.

Coen took exception to the comment and was involved in a verbal spat with Saleh after the Jaguars' 26-21 win against the 49ers on Sunday. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the exchange when he was asked who could beat up his defensive coordinator.

“Just me… I’d probably bet on Dan Campbell over a lot of people," Shanahan said. "Saleh is too nice. Someone (Liam Coen) struck a chord the other day. I don’t think any fight going on. It’s comical looking back on it now.”

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While the altercation grabbed headlines, Saleh walked back his comments, saying he meant to compliment the Jaguars' preparation and made a wrong choice of words.

"It's all good," Saleh said. "Whatever happened on Sunday doesn't change how I feel. In my heart, I genuinely was trying to give a compliment. I own the fact that I probably used a wrong choice of words. But however you want to word it, they're really, really good at putting their players in position to be successful."

49ers' Kyle Shanahan felt Liam Coen was "sensitive" about Robert Saleh's comment

Kyle Shanahan said he didn't watch the sideline altercation after Sunday's game, but felt Coen overrated on Saleh's comment, which was misinterpreted.

"I didn’t see what happened, so I’m not sure, I don't think he [Liam] shouldn't be that sensitive about it," Shanahan said. "But it is what it is. I'm not too worried about it."

After Coen refused to shake his hands, Saleh said he intended to compliment the Jaguars and felt his words triggered the Jacksonville coach.

"The intent was to say exactly what I just said, that I think he's doing a really nice job, which I do," Saleh said. "I just wanted to let him know that I appreciate the way he's going about his business with his football team. Everyone has a trigger, I guess."

The 49ers will be looking to put the controversy behind them as they are at the Los Angeles Rams for their Week 5 game on Thursday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash