UNTOLD ‘Swamp Kings’ Relives the Florida Gators’ Journey Under Coach Urban Meyer

When Urban Meyer took over the University of Florida’s football team as head coach in 2005, he came in with a mission to completely overhaul the Gators. After scaling the heights of college football and winning a national title under “head ball coach” Steve Spurrier in the 1990s, the team had lost its fire. Meyer was determined to turn the Gators back into a force in the Southeastern Conference, and it’s there that the UNTOLD: Swamp Kings story begins.

“I thought I knew big time football,” Meyer says in UNTOLD: Swamp Kings. “You don’t know big time football until you start messing around in that Southeastern Conference.”

Which Florida Gators players are featured in Swamp Kings?

In this four-part series from director Katharine English, the final installment in the UNTOLD Volume 3 anthology series, tough-as-nails coach Meyer and star players such as Tim Tebow relive the roller-coaster story of a flailing team’s rise to winning two BCS National Championships. In Swamp Kings, the players get candid about the Gators’ unique brotherhood, demanding training program, and off-field drama. 

“We wanted the players to be front and center of this series,” English said in a statement to Netflix. “The players’ stories are unfiltered, deeply personal, and often full of humor. They describe what it’s like to hear the roar of the crowd, to feel the sweat dripping down their backs, and to know they’re at the center of it all.”

“That class was one of the most passionate, rambunctious, fun-loving partiers that I’ve ever been around,” Tebow says in the series. “But my focus was playing football. At certain times we have to stop and go to work.” 

Why was Urban Meyer such a controversial coach?

One of the tensions in UNTOLD: Swamp Kings is the allusion to Meyer’s coaching style, sometimes perceived to be aggressive and unwavering. 

“When people watch, they will probably have mixed feelings about [Meyer’s] coaching methods,” executive producer Louise Norman said in a statement to Netflix. “I think that’s probably right, that people should debate whether or not it was too militaristic or too tough. But I think what we can say about him is that he was so incredibly honest throughout his interviews that he didn’t try to backtrack and say, ‘Well, that’s what I did then, but I wouldn’t do it now.’ ”

Is Aaron Hernandez mentioned in Swamp Kings?

In 2015, the former Florida Gators tight end was convicted of murdering a friend, a year after being indicted for the 2012 double homicide of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, a story captured in the 2020 docuseries Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez died by suicide in his jail cell just days after he was acquitted for the double murder. Norman told Netflix the decision not to include Hernandez as a focal point was intentional, but not for the reasons you might think.

“There was a lot of concern from the players right at the very beginning.… some of that was because of what they saw as the unfair reporting of the Hernandez story. But we didn’t decide not to cover it because of the sensitivities… it’s actually outside of our timeline,” Norman said. “He played for the team during those years, and we had footage of him playing, and there’s no doubt he’s an extraordinary player, but what actually happened to him later was outside our timeline…. There’s no doubt that the players want him to be remembered as the great player and teammate that he was.”

Where are the Swamp Kings now?

Some of the players went on to the NFL after their time playing with the Gators, while others took a different path. Read on to catch up with this special team and find out where they’ve all ended up 15 years later. 

Tim Tebow

After leaving the University of Florida, the star quarterback was picked in the 2010 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos and later had brief stints on the rosters of the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Jacksonville Jaguars. 

But Tebow’s heart was always with his Gators. “I’m so grateful for my time at the University of Florida, especially some great friendships, some great memories, and some great impact we were blessed to experience along the way,” he tells Tudum. He goes on to add that “the learning moments of success and failure, personally and as a team, helped me learn and grow so much, and I’m now able to apply some of that to what I believe is my biggest calling in life.” 

Called to charity by a mission trip he took to the Philippines at age 15, Tebow eventually founded the Tim Tebow Foundation, “with the mission,” as he says, “to bring faith, hope, and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.”

“Just like straining to do everything we could to win a game in the Swamp, we are straining to do everything we can to impact as many people as we can around the world through our foundation,” he tells Tudum. 

To learn more about his work, visit the Tim Tebow Foundation, and follow @timtebowfoundation on Instagram.

Major Wright

After winning the 2008 National Championship, the Gators’ safety played one more season at the University of Florida before entering the 2010 NFL draft as a college junior. That year, Wright was drafted by the Chicago Bears, which, as he tells Tudum, “made my childhood dreams come true.” He played four seasons for the Bears and two for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Since retiring, Wright has provided support for single mothers, and educational resources and after-school programs to children, through his nonprofit, the Wright Way Charities and his company Good Deed Tuesday, Inc. Wright says that he hopes his program’s namesake, a modern day superhero named Mr. GDT, can “improve our communities by changing how our kids treat each other.” 

For more information about Wright’s work, visit the Mr. Good Deed Tuesday site. You can also find him on Twitter at @LilMade21. 

Brandon Spikes

Spikes, the linebacker who became a leader in the Gators locker room, went on to play in the NFL for seven seasons, first with the New England Patriots (for whom he played in Super Bowl XLVI) and then with the Buffalo Bills. Spikes has since returned to the swamp as an assistant linebacker coach for the Gators, and is working toward finishing up his degree. He heads up Fifty 1 Labs, Inc., a company in the sports supplements, fitness equipment, and health and wellness industries. He says he remains close to his teammates and coach, “cultivating an unbreakable bond.” 

You can keep up with Spikes on Twitter at @brandonspikes55. 

Ryan Stamper 

Though he never played in the NFL, former Gators linebacker Stamper reunited with his former coach Urban Meyer at Ohio State, becoming assistant athletic director of player development, before moving on to the position of director of player assessment for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Carl Johnson 

Johnson, who played on the offensive line for the Gators, is still living in Gainesville with his wife and four kids, two dogs, and five chickens. He now owns a business called Egg & Bagel, LLC, which serves up New England-style bagels.

Steven Harris

After Harris left the Gators, he went on to play defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos briefly before retiring in 2008. Now, he mentors and coaches at Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Florida, and is an active member of his church. As for his Gators? “I keep in contact with almost all of my teammates,” he tells Tudum. “There is still a lot of love there and gratitude.”

Dallas Baker

Baker still keeps in touch with most of his Gators coaches — which makes sense, as he’s become one himself. The wide receiver, who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009, is currently wide receivers coach at Baylor University. 

Tate Casey

Former tight end Casey still lives in Florida, where he has worked in the health care industry for the last 12 years. Casey has also returned to his University of Florida roots in recent years, working as a sideline analyst for the Gators IMG Sports Network. Follow him on Twitter at @TateCasey84.

Urban Meyer

Known for his tough training program, Meyer stepped down from his head coaching position after the Gators lost the 2009 SEC Championship game, though he returned three months later for a short time. He later coached at Ohio State for seven years, winning a 2014 national championship. Meyer moved to the NFL in 2021 as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was fired 13 games into the season. He now works for the Fox college football pregame show Big Noon Kickoff. Check out Meyer on Instagram. 

Dan Mullen

The Gators’ former offensive coordinator left Florida to become the head coach at Mississippi State from 2009 to 2017, winning the George Munger Award for coaching in 2014. After nine years with the Bulldogs, Mullen returned to his Gators for four seasons as head coach, leading the team to three appearances in New Year’s Six bowl games. Now retired from coaching, Mullen is currently a college football analyst for ESPN and an avid supporter of his children’s athletic endeavors.. 

You can keep up with him on Twitter at @CoachDanMullen. 

Brandon Siler

After winning a national title with the Gators, linebacker Siler spent six seasons in the NFL, with the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, before transitioning to the corporate world. He brings both experiences to bear as founder of Legacy Pro Sports, a company which assists former pro football and baseball players in managing their personal, financial and medical matters, and owner of a sports rehab facility, Pure Recovery California, which treats pro athletes suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues. His work frequently brings him back into contact with his former teammates and coaches — he tells Tudum that Dan Mullen recently attended one of his charity events, and that he and Urban Meyer just got together for pickleball.

Where can I watch Swamp Kings?

UNTOLD: Swamp Kings is available to watch on Netflix now.