San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh stands on the sideline during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP photo)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is on high alert this week before playing Jacksonville.

Saleh said Jaguars coach Liam Coen’s staff is “elite” when it comes to stealing defensive signals — in a legal fashion.

“They’ve got legally, a really advanced signal-stealing type system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation,” Saleh said Thursday. “They do a great job with it. … So, we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve got to be great with our communication to combat some of the tells that we might give on the field. They’re almost elite in that regard.”

Saleh is a 2001 graduate of Northern Michigan University who played for the Wildcats football team from 1997-2000.

Saleh said many coaches who worked under Sean McVay on the Rams or Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota are skilled at stealing signs. Coen spent four seasons on McVay’s staff in Los Angeles while Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski spent the past three seasons working for O’Connell on the Vikings.

Offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett also comes from Minnesota’s staff, while passing game coordinator Shane Waldron spent several seasons with the Rams.

Coen brushed aside questions about his process and preparation.

“Yeah, I’m not going to speak on that fully right now,” he said Friday. “Have a huge game for us coming up this weekend, got a great defense that we’ve got to go and attack, and that’s where our whole mindset mentality is right now.”

He did add that scouting opponents for tendencies and tells is normal.

“We have kind of typically, by formation, by game plan, by working really hard as a coaching staff throughout the week trying to get indicators by your formation, motion, shift, pre-snap, those are the things that you’re trying to do as a coach if you’re trying to put your players in the best position to be successful, whether it’s attacking man or zone coverage with your formations, motions and concepts,” Coen said. “It’s a lot of hard work that goes into game-planning and trying to put your players in the best position to be successful.”

Saleh said he had noticed the opposing offense appearing to know what defensive call was coming last year when he faced Minnesota as coach of the New York Jets and in the past against the Rams.

Saleh said he wasn’t sure whether the signs were being stolen from the sideline or by signals given by players on the field, but he believes the staff has a clue of what’s coming.

“They always happen to find themselves in good situations based on the coverage you show,” he said. “There’s nothing illegal about it. I’m not suggesting that. It’s just, you can tell that they’ve got a … system that’s getting them into a very advantageous position. It gets them into a very advantageous position multiple times during the course of a game.”

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