JACKSONVILLE – This is the stuff of legends.
It's the stuff of longevity, too.
Gene Frenette, who as Florida Times-Union sports columnist has covered the Jaguars as long as the Jaguars were the Jaguars, announced his retirement recently.
"I felt like it was the right time," he said.
Frenette joined senior writer John Oehser for this 2025 offseason O-Zone Podcast, discussing multiple topics – including his view on the Jaguars' immediate future. He also left little doubt about his decision to leave the newspaper after 44 years there.
"I've had no regrets about it," he said.
Frenette, who joined the Jacksonville Journal in 1981 before that evening newspaper merged with the Times-Union, has covered the Jaguars as a T-U columnist since the NFL awarded Jacksonville the franchise in 1993.
"Obviously I'm biased, because I'm in the industry, but I just think the City of Jacksonville is so much better off with the Jaguars than without them," he said. "Even for people who don't care about football but care about Jacksonville wanting to grow as a city, you get a lot more respect when you have an NFL team than when you have no major sports franchise whatsoever."
Frenette's last major assignment for the T-U: Covering the 2025 NFL Draft in late April. His last column was May 4. Though he covered the Jaguars' new regime of Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli, General Manager James Gladstone and Head Coach Liam Coen only a few months, he said: "I would say what they've done so far, I like."
"They haven't put enough on the table to make a clearcut judgement on how it's going to go over the long haul," Frenette said of the Jaguars. "But I'm optimistic about the direction this franchise is headed. There are a lot of signs pointing in a very positive direction."
Frenette also discussed the Jaguars' decision to trade up from No. 5 overall to select wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
"I just thought it was a bold move that this franchise would not ordinarily make," Frenette said. "Early on, I like the direction the franchise is going. I'm not going to sit here and say. 'They will be a minimum of 11-6 this year. We'll see."
Be sure to listen to the entire O-Zone Podcast with Frenette.
