Swamp Kings: Urban Meyer previews Gators Netflix show, which he initially turned down
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Former Florida coach Urban Meyer went on the record for the first time this week about the ‘Swamp Kings’ documentary coming to Netflix.
The new series from Untold debuts on Aug. 23 and will chronicle UF’s 2006-2009 teams under Meyer, highlighted by two national championships and two SEC titles.
Meyer initially turned down Netflix when approached about the show but changed his mind after reconsidering. He explained why Tuesday on the Buddy Martin Show.
“At first I said no, when they asked me to take part in it,” Urban Meyer said. “And then I thought, wait a minute, you know, there’s been so many comments about that team and, quite honestly, ridiculous comments about that team. So, I said I am going to do this because all I care about is honoring them.
“That ’08 team, that will go down as one of the great teams in college football history. That ’06 team, think about what they did. They came out of nowhere and went on to beat the No. 1 team in the country soundly. So, I did it and they (Netflix) were great to work with.”
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Gators Online reported Monday that ‘Swamp Kings’ will feature interviews with players such as Tim Tebow, Brandon Siler, Brandon Spikes, Ahmad Black, Major Wright and Brandon James. GO has also learned that one key member of Florida’s title teams who didn’t take part in the documentary was star receiver Percy Harvin, which Meyer alludes to below.
Nonetheless, he said ‘Swamp Kings’ will properly honor the UF football dynasty while also covering off-the-field issues as well. Meyer doesn’t expect the show to be a “hit piece” but said that it will address problems that plagued the program — with the right perspective.
“The most important thing is when you see the interview list of the people that are on the show, it’s the people that should be on the show,” Meyer said. “There’s some people, unfortunately, not that we tried to get in there and for whatever reason aren’t on it. But it’s a celebration of some great football players and a great football team and a great university. That’s what it is. Are there highs and lows? Yeah. But it’s true.
“People keep asking me if it’s a hit piece. I’m not sure what that means. Because the best thing I started doing is I don’t read some of the silliness that’s out there. I just know what it was. And yeah, there were some lows. We lost a few games; we had some issues on the team. But we also had incredible people, great, great football players and one of the greatest football players of all time in the quarterback, Timmy. So, it’s gonna be a good show for Florida and it’s gonna be a behind-the-scenes look at a nice run.”
