49ers' Robert Saleh on spat with Liam Coen: Legal sign-stealing was 'wrong choice of words'

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San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh wishes he’d used words other than “legal sign-stealing” when attempting to give Jacksonville coach Liam Coen a compliment ahead of last week’s loss to the Jaguars.

“Whatever happened on Sunday doesn’t change how I feel,” Saleh said via the San Francisco Chronicle. “In my heart, genuinely, I was trying to give a compliment. I own the fact that I probably used the wrong choice of words.”

Last week, Saleh said Coen, his offensive staff, and pretty much all of the Sean McVay coaching tree have “legally, a really advanced signal-stealing type system.” On Sunday, Coen took exception to the chatter, approaching Saleh after the game, and the two had a back-and-forth.

On Tuesday, ahead of a Thursday night showdown with the Los Angeles Rams, the DC said the entire situation could have been avoided if he’d simply said “film study” instead of sign-stealing.

“Obviously, I did a poor job with the words,” Saleh said. “I mean, if I said the words film study, I don’t think we’re really talking about this. But I used signal stealing, and that’s why I was so adamant about legally. I was just struggling for the words, but for Sean, same thing. These guys are the best in the world, and that’s why they’re there.”

The Jaguars bested the Niners 26-21 on Sunday with Saleh’s unit giving up 325 total yards, its most of the season, including 151 rushing.

“I think Liam’s doing a hell of a job,” Saleh said. “I really do. You can tell that that team’s really taking on his personality, and I hope they came out of the game healthy, and I wish him the best of luck throughout the rest of the season. I wish I could have found a better choice of words, but my intent was always to compliment that football staff.”

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who on Friday attempted to avoid the on-field situation by pointing out that Saleh was trying to be complementary, downplayed the post-game kerfuffle again. Asked which NFL coaches might be able to best Saleh in a fight, Shanahan quipped, “just me.” He then agreed that Lions coach and former TE Dan Campbell might top the list.

“I would probably bet on Dan over a lot of people,” Shanahan said. “Saleh’s too nice, usually, but it seemed like someone struck a chord the other day. … It was kind of comical now to look back at it.”

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