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The Florida Gators won two championships with Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow in 2006 and 2008.
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The team was also known for many legal troubles and is now featured in a new Netflix docuseries.
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Below, a look at the biggest names from the team and series and where their careers went next.
The Florida Gators won two championships with Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow in 2006 and 2008 and now that story is being told in Netflix’s latest “Untold” docuseries, “Swamp Kings.”
While the team launched several big names to greatness — Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, etc. — it was also plagued by a lot of players who ran into legal troubles, including the notorious Aaron Hernandez.
Below, we take a look at the biggest names from the team and series and see where their careers went after leaving The Swamp in Gainesville, FL.
Urban Meyer
The University of Florida hired Urban Meyer as their head coach after building the programs at Bowling Green University and the University of Utah. In six years, he won two national championships and then retired due to health concerns. Meyer revealed in the documentary that the stress made it hard for him to sleep, and he became addicted to Ambien and was even worried he would die.
Since leaving the Gators, Meyer returned to coaching and led Ohio State to a national championship in 2014. In 2018, he once again retired due to health concerns. After a stint as a Fox analyst, he returned to coaching. This time in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was fired after just 13 games. He is now once again an analyst for Fox.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow was the undisputed star of the Gators, especially in 2007, when he won the Heisman Trophy, and in 2008, when he became the starting quarterback for the national championship team.
Tebow was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He spent just two seasons with the Broncos, winning one playoff game. He was traded to the Jets, where he spent one season mostly on special teams. He later failed to make the rosters with the Patriots and Eagles before leaving football to pursue a career as a professional baseball player. He tried football again in 2021 with the Jaguars and Urban Meyer, which ended before the season started. Tebow is now an analyst for ESPN, an author, and a motivational speaker.
Brandon Siler
Brandon Siler was a linebacker and the defensive leader of the Gators’ 2006 championship team. He is featured prominently in the early episodes of “Swamp Kings” for his role in encouraging other players to play better.
Siler was a seventh-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2007 and spent six years in the league, mostly as a backup. Siler retired from the NFL after Chiefs teammate Jevon Belcher killed his girlfriend and then died by suicide. He is now an author, motivational speaker, and the founder of Legacy Pro Sports Foundation, a company that assists athletes with mental health and disability issues.
Brandon Spikes
Brandon Spikes was a star linebacker for the Gators on their 2008 championship team. He is also featured prominently in “Swamp Kings” as a player who was naturally talented but initially reluctant to put in the hard work demanded by Urban Meyer. In the documentary, Spikes credited his time in Gainesville for making him “a man,” a “better person,” and a “better teammate.”
Spikes was a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He spent six years in the NFL but missed the 2015 season after being cut by the Patriots when he was cited in a hit-and-run accident. He is now a motivational speaker and runs Spikes CBDX, a CBD company.
Dan Mullen
Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Florida after serving as his quarterbacks coach at Utah. Mullen is credited as the mastermind behind Florida’s high-powered offense during the Meyer years.
Mullen left the Gators in 2009 to become the head coach at Mississippi State, leading them to seven bowl games in nine years. He then returned to Florida as head coach in 2018. After two promising seasons, the Gators struggled under Mullen, and he was fired in 2021. He is now an analyst with ABC.
Chris Leak
Many sports fans forget that Chris Leak was the starting quarterback for Urban Meyer’s first national championship team in 2006, with Tebow used sparingly. Leak led the Gators to that title despite Meyer and Mullen making it clear in “Swamp Kings” that he was not their style of quarterback.
Leak was not selected in the 2007 NFL Draft but did sign with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent. He was cut before the season and again in 2008 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent two seasons in the CFL, mainly as a backup, winning the Grey Cup with the Montreal Alouettes twice. Since retiring as a player, he has turned to coaching, with stints back at the University of Florida and at the high school level. He most recently was a coach at Football University, which helps showcase high school athletes.
Aaron Hernandez
Aaron Hernandez was a tight end for the Gators on their 2008 championship team and a top receiving target for Tim Tebow for two years. He is only briefly mentioned in “Swamp Kings,” when Tebow laments an incident where Hernandez was accused of punching a bouncer at a Gainesville restaurant. Hernandez was never charged after the bouncer changed his mind on charges following a meeting with Gators coaches. In the documentary, Tebow blamed others, saying the things being said were “awful, and all racist comments.” He was also identified as a shooter who injured two people in a car and left one in a coma. An uninjured passenger in the vehicle later rescinded his identification of Hernandez, and he was never charged.
Hernandez spent three seasons in the NFL with the Patriots. Following the 2012 season, he was found guilty of murdering Odin Lloyd. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He later died by suicide in prison.
Cam Newton
Newton was a backup quarterback for the Gators in 2007 and 2008 and was considered Tim Tebow’s heir apparent. While at the school, Newton was charged with felonies when he was accused of stealing another student’s laptop. The charges were later dropped following a plea deal. After Newton announced his intention to transfer in 2008, it was reported that he was facing expulsion from the school for cheating.
Newton eventually landed at Auburn, leading the Tigers to the 2010 national championship. He was the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and spent 11 years in the league with the Carolina Panthers and Patriots. He last appeared in the NFL in 2021. While he has attempted to resurrect his career, he now seems content that it is over. He also recently started a podcast with former NFL receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Brandon James
Brandon James was a receiver and kick returner for the 2006 and 2008 national championship teams. He is featured prominently in “Swamp Kings” for achieving greatness despite below-average size for a football player (he is 5-foot-7). He is portrayed as a key example of Urban Meyer recognizing talent in unexpected players.
James was not drafted in the NFL, but did appear in three games for the Indianapolis Colts and later spent one season in the CFL. He is now a high school football coach in his hometown of St. Augustine, Florida.
Charlie Strong
Charlie Strong was Urban Meyer’s associate head coach and top defensive coach.
In 2010, Strong left the Gators to become head coach at Louisville. He later served as a head coach at Texas and South Florida before reuniting with Meyer as his assistant head coach in the NFL with the Jaguars. He is now a defensive analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama.
Dallas Baker
Dallas Baker was a star receiver for the 2006 Gators national championship team.
Baker was a seventh-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007 but only dressed for eight games in his career and caught one pass. He later played indoor football and in the CFL. He is now an assistant coach at Baylor University.
Percy Harvin
Percy Harvin was a star running back and receiver for both championship teams in 2006 and 2008. Urban Meyer called Harvin “the best player that I’ve ever coached to put on a helmet.”
He was a first-round pick in 2009 by the Minnesota Vikings. He spent eight years in the league with four teams, winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013. It is unknown what Harvin has been up to since retiring in 2017, as his social media accounts have gone quiet.
Jarvis Moss
Jarvis Moss was an All-American defensive lineman for the Gators’ 2006 championship team. He had arguably the biggest play of that team’s season, blocking a last-second field goal against South Carolina to keep the championship hopes alive.
Moss was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos in 2007. He played five seasons as a pro, mostly as a backup. He recently told the “All 4 The Gators Podcast” that after his career ended, he held a grudge against the game and didn’t even watch football until his son started playing. (He’s now an emerging star high school running back.)
Jarvis is now an assistant coach for Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, where they have won four straight state championships.
Chris Rainey
Chris Rainey was a running back on the 2008 championship team. While at the school, he was charged with aggravated stalking after being accused of sending a threatening text to his girlfriend. He was briefly kicked off the team but reinstated a month later.
Rainey was picked in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was cut after his rookie season following an arrest on a charge of battery where he was accused of being involved in an altercation with his girlfriend. He played just two more games in the NFL before moving to the CFL. After retiring, he opened the “Chris Rainey Speed Factory” near Gainesville, where he trains young athletes.
Reggie Nelson
Reggie Nelson was an All-American safety for the 2006 championship team. He was also chosen as the team’s MVP that year.
He was a first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and played 12 seasons with three teams until 2018. While in the NFL, Nelson was initially identified as being with Aaron Hernandez in the 2007 Gainesville shooting that injured two and left one in a coma. The witness later rescinded his statement.
Avery Atkins
Avery Atkins only played one season with the Gators as part of Urban Meyer’s first recruitment class. However, he was later dismissed from the team after an allegation of domestic abuse. One year after leaving the team, Atkins died of a drug overdose.
Atkins is featured prominently in “Swamp Kings” when Meyer explains why he did not want to kick troubled players off the team.
“People thought I should start kicking players off the team,” Meyer told the producers. “I’m not doing that. I saw what happened to a player we did throw to the street, and it will haunt me the rest of my life.”
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