Gene Frenette: Forget sad goodbyes for Rogers, be grateful for epic coaching career – Florida Times-Union

There was no game plan for Corky Rogers farewell press conference Tuesday, so the legendary football coach essentially winged it. He answered a few questions and then regaled his audience at a Bolles School auditorium with multiple stories, including the politically incorrect variety, about a magnificient football life.

It was Rogers at his unfiltered best for 39 minutes, as if he were entertaining friends at one of his Friday night postgame parties. At one point, to emphasize wanting to stay active in some capacity with Bolles football, he said: If they want me to be a ballboy, Ill be a ballboy.

The 73-year-old Rogers, being forced to step down as head coach at The Bolles School due to lingering health problems, purposely avoided turning this awkward goodbye into a solemn occasion. Though his body has betrayed him the last nine months, Rogers wants no sympathy for being dealt a tough hand of not leaving the profession on his terms.

A look back: Corky Rogers through the years

Thats the way me and everybody else on the [coaching] staff feels, Rogers said. Its not a bad time, its just THE time [to step away]. Would I have liked to go on coaching? Sure, but who wouldnt? Its just one of those things. Thats life.

Im glad for what I had. It went a lot longer than I thought itd go on. Theres nothing but good things to remember.

Nobody could have predicted when a newly-married Rogers, two years removed from his Georgia Tech playing days, left the insurance business in 1968 that it would lead to one of the epic coaching careers in high school football history.

Through sheer force of his competitive drive, Rogers imposed a will of voracious preparation on nearly 2,000 players in 17 years at Lee High School and the last 28 seasons at Bolles. It led to a payoff of 465 victories, 10 state titles, and teenagers receiving much-needed direction on their path to manhood.

While his career end was abrupt, and quite sad for many of his colleagues, Rogers wasnt about to stop coaching. So he kept the message upbeat by thanking players, coaches past and present, and his immediate family (wife Linda, daughters Tracy and Jennifer). He repeatedly emphasized his success was a team effort, not a solo act.

But the more Rogers deflected credit, the more a small audience of former Bolles administrators and ex-players paid him homage. A Bolles psychology teacher for 24 years, Melissa Tyler, lauded him for having football players in her class that were well-behaved and respectful.

Shawn Puri, a former Lee lineman and almost-retired Jacksonville police officer that has served as Rogers security guard at hundreds of games, kept his message short and on point, saying: On behalf of the thousand of guys that couldnt be here thank you.

About a half-dozen current Bolles players slipped into the auditorium in-between classes to hear their coach. Unsolicited, Rogers brought 6-foot-9 junior offensive tackle Nick Lewis on stage, introducing him like a proud father for being offered a scholarship to Missouri.

Harvard-bound senior defensive end Justin Mitchell sat quietly, then might well have spoken for every player who endured Rogers hard-driving regimen of practices to his offseason conditioning program. He smiled when Rogers talked about his long-standing tradition of wearing white socks pulled up, knowing players who strayed from that fashion edict were immediately kicked out of practice.

I loved playing for him because he taught you so much, said Mitchell. Coach Rogers has been through a lot [health-wise] and I listen to every story he tells because I feel it teaches you something about life. This football program has taught me how to be a man. I just thank him for that.

It was another reminder of how much Rogers transcends time. Whether it was baby boomers, Generation X, Y or Millenials, his message to players from all walks of life got through in a way that maximized their talent.

Its a shame someone of Corky Rogers skill level will no longer roam a football sideline as a head coach, but his friends, coaching colleagues and players have little reason to be sad. The overriding sentiment should be an appreciation for five decades of what he was able to give them.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

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Gene Frenette: Forget sad goodbyes for Rogers, be grateful for epic coaching career - Florida Times-Union