ESPN analyst makes prediction that would only heighten the Bucs—Liam Coen feud
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Liam Coen had one of the uglier splits between a team and its former coach in recent memory. With the Bucs having offered a contract extension to their then-offensive coordinator to make him the highest paid coach at his position, Coen went radio silent and was disingenuous about his intentions […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Liam Coen had one of the uglier splits between a team and its former coach in recent memory. With the Bucs having offered a contract extension to their then-offensive coordinator to make him the highest paid coach at his position, Coen went radio silent and was disingenuous about his intentions and whereabouts as he worked to finalize a deal to become the Jags' new head coach.
After landing the gig, Coen tried twice to bring Bucs coaches across the state to Jacksonville with offensive line coach Kevin Carberry and assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci. Tampa Bay denied both requests.
If one ESPN analyst had his way, the feud between the intrastate NFL franchises would dig even deeper.
ESPN put out a list of 2025 NFL predictions, and analyst Eric Moody listed the offseason move he would like to see happen is the Jacksonville Jaguars sign wide receiver Chris Godwin in free agency.
Moody had this to say of the move:
The breakout of wide receiver Jalen McMillan and tight end Cade Otton makes Godwin expendable if the Buccaneers want to improve other areas of the team, especially given his injury history. I could see Godwin joining his former offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, and playing alongside Brian Thomas Jr.
First, saying a top-end player like Godwin his expendable – even with other needs to address – is farfetched. Bringing back Godwin would give the Bucs the best wide receiver trio in the league with the strong rookie season of Jalen McMillan. And injuries at the position for Tampa Bay in 2021 and 2024 proved you can never have too much talent on your roster.
It sounds like the Bucs are committed to making that move happen, as noted recently by ESPN Bucs beat reporter Jenna Laine. Tampa Bay has committed to keeping cornerstone franchise players long term that they've drafted, as we've seen with Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Tristan Wirfs, and Antoine Winfield, Jr. It stands to reason they'd try to find a way to do that with Godwin if at all possible.
Godwin would surely be a fit in Jacksonville, but the Bucs would be wise to keep him from heading up to Duval beyond just contempt for their former employee. With a couple of other key moves this offseason, a Godwin reunion could be a key part in helping the Bucs take that jump from playoff participant back to true Super Bowl contender in the NFC.
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