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Tony Boselli calls appointment to Jacksonville Jaguars EVP of football a 'dream come true'
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- Tony Boselli calls appointment to Jacksonville Jaguars EVP of football a 'dream come true'
Tony Boselli called it a "dream come true."
The Jacksonville Jaguars and owner Shad Khan named the team's first-ever draft pick Executive Vice President of Football Operations on Monday, solidifying Boselli's role with the franchise after more than a decade of work as the team's ambassador, radio analyst and contributor to jaguars.com's reporting.
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When speaking with a group of local reporters on Monday, Boselli likened this moment back to when he was drafted by the team with the second-overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, the Jaguars ' inaugural season.
"Listening to Tom Coughlin introduce me, and he introduced me as the cornerstone of the franchise and at that moment I looked around, I thought we drafted a quarterback I didn't know about because, usually, the left tackle is not the cornerstone of any franchise," Boselli said with a smile.
"But, from that moment [on] it was a responsibility that, at times I felt like as a young guy it was heavy, but I owned it and I wanted it and I felt like I had a responsibility to this organization."
OFFICIAL: Jacksonville Jaguars name Tony Boselli Executive Vice President of Football Operations
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From there, Boselli said, he made it his mission to make Jacksonville and the Jaguars the "greatest place" and to support it in any way he could.
"I've had a bunch of different roles in this organization. Everything from a player to an ambassador, to helping on season tickets, to doing radio, you name it, I've done everything. But this is really the job I've dreamed about and I can't thank Shad Khan and his family more than giving me the honor, giving me the privilege," said Boselli.
"I'm going to approach this job no different than I did when I was an offensive lineman. My job as an offensive lineman was to open up holes for the running back and protect the quarterback. Ultimately, if you want to go right down to the core of what my job was is to help other people have success, help other people go score. And that's the same thing I'm going to do here."
Though Boselli did not want to get into all the details of his and Khan's conversations over the years, he did say Khan recently decided it was the "right time," and that he and Khan have always had a good relationship since he took over as the team's owner at the end of 2011.
Hall of fame football tackle Tony Boselli looks to Jaguars owner Shad Khan while he was honored at halftime, while his family watched, with his Jacksonville Jaguars number 71 retired. Boselli was enshrined in Canton, Ohio this past August after his seven-season career all with the Jaguars. Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The honor took place between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans regular season game. The Texans won 13-6. The Texans won 13-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Jki 100822 Texans Jags Cp 101
"When he asked me about the opportunity, I said, you know what? This is my dream. So obviously it's the right time for me, too," said Boselli, adding later that this opportunity was something he's sought for a long time.
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"This is something I've thought about a long time. I mean, I love this place and as much as I love doing radio, the competitor in me always is like, 'eh, it's just not scratching that itch,' because talking about it is one thing, I want to be in the game. I want to [be] in the trenches like an offensive lineman of getting stuff done and helping and making a difference," Boselli said.
"And so when that opportunity came, it was a decision I really thought through in detail and making sure, but at the end of the day, it was a pretty easy decision because this is really a dream of mine."
Boselli's work on Jaguars radio and digital programs will be to be determined moving forward. It will not look like as it has in the past, he said, but nothing has been finalized.
Tony Boselli to support Liam Coen, Jaguars achieve success
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen greets Jacksonville Jaguars Hall of Famer Tony Boselli Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Jaguars fans got a chance to see the new head coach speak and give a warm welcome at the stadium.
Boselli isn't going to be picking players. He's not setting the free agent and draft boards for Jacksonville, but what he will do could be more important — instilling a culture within the franchise that'll help it achieve success for years to come.
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"We are going to hire a GM [general manager] whose responsibility will be to pick players, go through free agency, the draft. Obviously, Liam is going to have a very, very big role influence voice in that process. We are going to make sure we are always aligned," Boselli said, adding that he will not be the one picking players.
"I'm going to be here. I will assist them how they need, but that's not my job. My job is not to pick players, my job is not to coach and surely not my job to go play. We know that. And so my job is to support them and that's what I'll do."
There are always times when general managers and head coaches butt heads and can't agree on a decision. Boselli said he won't work as an intermediator, however, and emphasized alignment within the Miller Electric Center.
"We will be aligned when we pick a player, it's our player. He's a Jaguar. It's not that guy's pick or this guy wanted him or that. That's not how we're going to operate. It's going to be our player and when we win, we won. When we lose, we lost. We're not going to blame, we're not going to point the finger," Boselli said.
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"I've been on too many teams that when we had success, we were in it together. Sometimes, the offense does more than the defense and vice versa. And I was on some really good teams when I played here and there was no blame, there was no point in the finger."
Still, Boselli believes that conflict is important within any successful business. But, once a decision is made, everyone has a hand in it.
"The key is, once the decision is made, whatever that decision is, we're all in it together. It's our decision at that point. Once the decision's made, then we move forward with one voice behind the scenes," said Boselli.
"As we're working through things and we're making hard decisions, whether it's a free agency or draft or cutting a player or whatever it is, there's a thousand big decisions you make along the way and I expect, and I hope there's some good healthy conflict, good confrontation, challenging each other. That's the type of people I want to be around."
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Tony Boselli doesn't think Jaguars are far from winning championships
9 Sep 2001: Tony Boselli #71 of the Jacksonville Jaguars comes out onto the field during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars defeated the Steelers 21-3.Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport
Jacksonville's third season under Doug Pederson didn't go as planned. After earning a playoff berth in 2022 and falling one game short of another in 2023, the Jaguars fell off a cliff, earning a 4-13 record in 2024.
That led to the ousting of both general manager Trent Baalke and Pederson, ushering in head coach Liam Coen , Boselli and a general manager yet to be named alongside a near-entirely new coaching staff.
Though the Jaguars fell well short of expectations, though, Boselli doesn't think it'll take long to turn the ship around. Though he does not undersell the need to establish sustained success in Jacksonville, Boselli said winning a Super Bowl is the ultimate goal.
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"I don't think we're far. I really don't. Sustained success in the NFL is ultimately the goal, but the real goal is winning a championship. I mean, that's what we're all doing this for is to bring a Lombardi trophy to Jacksonville," said Boselli before adding, "Let's make no mistake you have sustain. We want to have sustained success because usually when you have sustained success, that gives you the best and most opportunities to go win the big one."
Boselli has been a staunch supporter of quarterback Trevor Lawrence during his time working in radio. His transition to a new role within the organization has not impacted his opinion on the QB, though. He believes the team has the right guy.
"We have a franchise quarterback. I'm a big believer. Anyone who listened to me on the radio knows that I'm a big believer in Trevor Lawrence, that he's the guy, I've said it multiple times, that he will help us bring the Lombardi trophy to Jacksonville for the first time," Boselli said.
Boselli also pointed to the team's top pass rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker , receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and right tackle Anton Harrison as pieces that "a lot of teams wish they had."
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"And then you combine that with Liam and the staff that he is putting together. I feel very good and really confident that we're going to get this right and we're really, we're going to win a lot of football games here in the near future," said Boselli.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tony Boselli embracing responsibility as EVP for Jacksonville Jaguars
