When the Titans face the Jaguars on Sunday, Robert Saleh and Liam Coen will coach against each other for the first time since their run-in last year, when they exchanged words on the field over something Saleh, then the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, said something about Coen that Coen didn’t appreciate.
Last year, Saleh said that Coen’s team was good at stealing signals, intending it as a compliment for how good they are at recognizing what the opposing defense was doing. Coen interpreted it as an accusation of cheating and confronted Saleh on the field after the game.
Today Saleh was asked about that, and he said he and Coen have spoken and there are no hard feelings.
“Liam’s great, man,” Saleh said. “We’ve had plenty of interactions. The whole thing is what it was, a little misunderstanding, poor words on my part. But they’re doing a great job. I love what they’re doing offensively. They’ve definitely got an identity. And then [defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile] on the other side. Overall as an organization, they’ve done a really nice job.”
Coen’s confrontational approach toward Saleh after the game last year seemed like an overreaction, but no one can dispute that Coen has done a great job building the Jaguars. Saleh knows he’s going up against a good coach on Sunday, and he won’t provide any bulletin-board material.