49ers’ Robert Saleh regrets lead-up to ‘end your life’ confrontation with Jags coach Liam Coen

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh says that he used a poor choice of words in the buildup to a heated confrontation with Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen on Sunday.

The two had to be separated after the Jaguars’ 26-21 win at the 49ers on Sunday. Saleh told Coen that he would “end your life” and “fuck your world up”. Coen told Saleh: “Keep my name out of your fucking mouth”.

The incident came a few days after Saleh had said the Jags were good at legally stealing signs from opposing teams.

On Tuesday, Saleh said he had meant those comments as a compliment.

“In my heart, genuinely, I was trying to give a compliment,” Saleh said. “I own the fact that I probably used the wrong choice of words, but however you want to word it, I mean, they’re really, really good at putting their players in position to be successful. As coaches, we’re always chasing leverage. They’re trying to have winning leverage. We’re trying to take leverage away. Everyone in the league is trying to find every avenue they can. As a coach watching their tape, I recognize the amount of hours that must be spent to be able to build formations and to find every little indicator they can to give their players a chance to be in a successful position.”

Both teams have had successful starts to the season and own identical 3-1 records. Saleh said he was impressed by the Jags’ campaign so far.

“The intent was to say exactly what I just said, that I think [Coen] is doing a really nice job, which I do,” Saleh said. “That football team is playing and taking on his personality. They’re playing violently on the offensive line and their running backs are running really hard. I think they’re doing a really, really nice job and I just wanted to let him know that I appreciate the way he’s going about his business with his football team.”

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked on Tuesday which NFL coaches could beat Saleh, who played tight end in college, in a fight. Shanahan laughed and said he would pick Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who was listed at 6ft 5in and 265lb during his NFL playing career, “over a lot of people”.

Shanahan added: “Saleh’s too nice usually but seemed like someone struck a chord the other day. I don’t think there’s any fights going on. It was kind of comical now to look back at it.”

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