Urban Meyer shreds critics of Netflix documentary 'Swamp Kings'

Urban Meyer doesn’t want to hear any criticism of Swamp Kings, a recent Netflix documentary documenting the run by the Florida Gators in the mid-2000s. Winning national titles with a historic roster and amid controversies off the field, many were excited about this documentary.

Critics of the doc generally said it was all a retelling of information already known, with no deep dive into certain players and off the field transgressions. Interestingly enough, it could’ve been longer to chronicle the entire story, before and after Meyer’s tenure.

But the former coach thought it was a great documentary. And he sent a message that he doesn’t want to hear your complaints!

“I thought ‘Swamp Kings’ was outstanding,” Meyer said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “I thought someone said, ‘well, there’s not (this and that talked about), it’s like, shut up, you know? Shut up. You’re talking about the Orlando Sentinel, you know, enjoy the moment, man. I mean, we had some players do some stupid things … look at what’s happening now in certain programs, I mean, it happens all the time. So shut your, shut up. Enjoy the greatness of some great players that were phenomenal for the University of Florida, in one of the greatest runs in college football history.”

There are two perspectives on Swamp Kings, whether it’s Meyer’s as well as former QB Tim Tebow raving about it, or Cam Newton being disappointed.

“I actually haven’t even seen the whole finished product yet,” Tebow told On3 in September of 2023. “We’ve been on the road like crazy. I’ve gotten to see clips and I know so many people have seen it and shared encouraging things. I think one of my favorite parts was just getting to reunite with so many players that we’re just so close with … There’s a story about a lot of highs, some lows, some great moments, some disappointing moments, but I think more than anything, a lot of people that came together for a cause. 

“And how close so many of us still are and how when we get together, because we’re literally all over the world, when we get together, you can just pick right back up and more than anything, it’s a story of brotherhood.”

So you have that end of things, but Newton, who was briefly at Florida during that time, was disappointed. He, like some others, felt Swamp Kings left too much out.

“They left out so much,” Newton said on Club Shay Shay in 2024. “Go talk to Percy (Harvin). Go talk to Charlie Strong. Go talk to Joe Haden. Ask them the real. They would’ve done that (expletive) for free … You want to tell us the real story? That was a very toxic locker room. We still had success. But damn, it was a combination of a lot of talent that was boiling over. And there was times where it was just unmanageable. And then there was also times where it was a thing of beauty, where it was a competition every day, every practice like we competed. 

“And even though Tim Tebow was a person who I wanted to be better than. Tim Tebow made everybody better. Because he competed. That energy that he had that screaming and ah, that’s something that I could connect with. And he connected with everybody else.”