LATEST Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. According to video published from a Jacksonville television station, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen apparently approached 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to kick off a fiery exchange after Jacksonville beat San Francisco on Sunday.

Advertisement

Action News Jacksonville, which operates WFOX-TV and WJAX-TV, posted a video of Sunday’s incident. In the 32-second video, Saleh is seen greeting Jaguars players when the camera finds Coen. Jacksonville’s head coach was walking toward the team’s locker room in the northwest corner, but turned back at Saleh and delivered a message to the 49ers assistant.

“Keep my name out of your mouth,” Coen is heard saying. He then repeats that message a second time as several players and coaches step in.

Saleh then points back at Coen and says something to him, though the audio isn’t picked up on the video from Action News Jacksonville. Coen proceeds to turn back to the locker room and walk away, while Saleh eventually stops.

Advertisement

In postgame press conferences, Coen elected not to elaborate on what was said between him and Saleh, saying he was going to “keep that between us.” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the incident and tried to downplay the issue, but had a quick message to send to his fellow head coach.

“I didn’t see what happened so I’m not sure,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think he [Coen] should be that sensitive about it, but that’s the way it is.”

Sept. 28, 4:30 p.m. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Jaguars head coach Liam Coen had to be physically separated after the Jaguars beat the Niners at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

Advertisement

Shortly after Jacksonville’s 26-21 win, Fox cameras followed Coen as he did postgame handshakes, starting with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The cameras then cut away from Coen briefly, but returned to show both coaches being restrained from the other as the broadcast was about to go to commercial.

In the brief clip, Saleh is walking towards the Jacksonville locker room entrance and has a 49ers staffer holding onto the back of his shirt, while Coen has a Jaguars offensive lineman and staffer holding onto him. There were several other Jaguars players and staffers around the exchange, and 49ers defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos was also present.

There were scarce details from the exchange immediately available, but San Francisco Standard columnist Tim Kawakami said on social media that Coen and Saleh did not have a postgame handshake.

It isn’t hard to decipher what might have been a discussion point, though. Saleh brought Coen and the Jaguars into the national spotlight this week when he discussed Jacksonville’s sign-stealing operation. While noting that everything they are doing is legal, Saleh praised the group for their ability to steal defensive signals and help their offense in the process.

Advertisement

Still, Saleh’s comments raised eyebrows around the NFL and had anonymous sources telling CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones they were questioning if this was Saleh trying to get into the Jags’ heads or a sign of the Jags being in Saleh’s head. Coen had to address the comments in his press conference on Friday and looked quite annoyed by the inquiries.

The Jaguars certainly earned the last laugh on Sunday, handing the 49ers their first loss of the 2025 season. San Francisco will now have to turn around and prepare to face the Rams on a short week, with kickoff set for Thursday night.

This developing story will be updated.