Netflix documentary on Gators under Urban Meyer gets release date, report

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A documentary on the most successful — and controversial — period of Gators football finally has a name and a release date.

Netflix’s documentary on the 2006-09 Gators football teams, called “Swamp Kings,” will be released on Aug. 23, according to an Instagram post by ex-Gators star Brandon Siler. The documentary itself was known to be in the works, but few specifics were known until Siler’s post. The documentary will be released under the “Untold” series banner. That series includes several sports-centric angles, including the powerful documentary about former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and “The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist.”

That time period remains the most significant in Gators football. Coach Urban Meyer led Florida to national championships in 2006 and ‘09. Quarterback Tim Tebow headlined the 2009 national champs and played a big role as a backup to Chris Leak on the 2006 team.

Those Meyer-coached teams had a heavy local presence, with the 2006 team featuring 14 players, including Nease’s Tebow, St. Augustine High’s Brandon James, Fletcher’s Kyle Jackson and First Coast’s Ryan Stamper. The 2009 national champion team had 11 players from area schools.

Those teams also garnered headlines for off-the-field issues as well. From 2005-10, Meyer’s teams saw a reported 31 players arrested. One of the most infamous players from that era, tight end Aaron Hernandez, would star at Florida and later in the NFL before running into a myriad of legal issues.

Some of those problems began when Hernandez played at Florida. Hernandez was later found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd. He was found dead in his prison cell in April 2017.