49ers’ Saleh: Jaguars Have ‘Advanced’ Sign-Stealing System

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh made waves on Thursday when he brought up the subject of sign-stealing while previewing Sunday’s Week 4 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Saleh pointed out that Jacksonville, under first-year head coach Liam Coen, has developed what he described as a “really advanced signal-stealing type system.”

“Liam and his staff, couple 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. “They do a great job of it. They tell you to just try to find any nugget they can. So we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve gotta be great with our communication.”

A McVay Coaching Tree Trait

Saleh emphasized that there’s nothing illegal about what the Jaguars are doing, but noted that this type of system is particularly common among coaches connected to Sean McVay. He cited both Coen and Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell as examples.

“They’re almost elite in that regard. That whole entire tree, from Sean [McVay] to Kevin O’Connell to all those guys, they all do it,” Saleh said. “There’s challenges. They’re going to catch us in some situations where they have the advantage and we’ve just got to play sound, fundamental football.”

Saleh said the Jaguars’ operation can capitalize on defensive hand signals or even sideline communication to identify tendencies and gain favorable matchups. He called it “the ultimate trick.”

Legal Sign Stealing in the NFL

Sign stealing isn’t unusual in the NFL — as long as it stays within league rules. Teams are allowed to study TV broadcasts and All-22 film to match hand signals, body language, or code words to specific plays. What’s prohibited is unauthorized filming of signals, as seen in the Patriots’ “Spygate” scandal.

Multiple coaches confirmed that defensive signals are often slow to change week to week, making them ripe for exploitation. As one coach put it: “DB hand signals tell you what most defenses are doing.”

Saleh himself admitted his teams have been caught by this before. “Were there times we were like, ‘Damn, how did they know to get to that play?’ Yeah. We dealt with it against Minnesota last year when I was with the Jets. You can see it on tape.”

A Mental Game as Well

Some coaches believe Saleh’s comments might be part of a larger strategy — planting seeds of doubt in Jacksonville’s staff. If Jaguars coaches believe the 49ers will overhaul their signaling system, it could make them hesitate to trust what they think they’re seeing.

As one coach explained, “We all have fake signals and calls to mess with one another.” Creating that uncertainty could be as valuable as changing signals altogether.

Jaguars Off to Strong Start

Coen, a longtime McVay assistant with the Rams, has led Jacksonville to a 2-1 record in his debut season. His offensive staff includes multiple former Vikings assistants, which Saleh specifically referenced. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence also comes from Clemson, a program once known for one of college football’s most sophisticated sign-stealing systems.

For now, Saleh insists the 49ers simply need to be sharper with communication. But by openly acknowledging Jacksonville’s “advanced” methods, he may already be playing a mental game before the teams even take the field.