Last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars were accused of legally stealing signs by the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator. After the game, Jags’ head coach Liam Coen almost came to blows with Robert Saleh. Now the focus is on Monday Night Football, where they host Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who referred to the signs controversy.
According to Charles Goldman of AtoZSports, Mahomes said he doesn’t even understand all the fuzz about the Jaguars’ sign-stealing given the fact that the Chiefs change their signals every single week. He also said they know “the game is on TV and that other teams try to get a beat on what they’re trying to do.“
As per Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ HC said “If you’re going to put a sign out there… guys are going to look at it and kind of sneak it from you.The headsets have kind of taken a bit away from that.” For the Chiefs it’s simple: Change your signs and it’s harder for other teams to steal them.
Coen comes from a sign-stealing coaching tree
Coen comes from the Sean McVay tree. His first gig in the NFL was as the assistant wide receivers coach for the Rams in 2018. He eventually became the offensive coordinator of the team in 2022 and after a brief stint in College for Kentucky, he was then signed as the OC for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, McVay’s coaching style has always been rumored to use a sign-stealing technique which is legal. Hence, there is a buzz that Coen learned the trick.
Coen has started 3-1 this season as the Jaguars head coach. However, it’s his defense what has impressed more than the offense. The Chiefs are their biggest test to date. A primetime win over Mahomes would be incredibly great for a team that is defying the odds.
What Mahomes said is supported by a former coach
Eric Mangini, who is a former head coach in the NFL and also served as coordinator under Bill Belichick, now serves as a commentator on FS1. When speaking about the matter of sign-stealing, he was dumbfounded that Saleh even pointed it out.
Similar to Mahomes, he said teams can change and usually do change the signs in a weekly basis. He also added that there are no rules against changing the signs. In an odd way, he was shocked that this was even a thing.