City Meyer FilmMagic for Sports activities Illustrated
City Meyer is entrance and middle throughout Untold: Swamp Kings, a four-part docuseries concerning the success and controversies surrounding the College of Florida soccer crew from 2005-2010.
Meyer grew to become the Gators’ head coach in 2005. Throughout his second season, Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow defeated The Ohio State College to win Florida’s first nationwide championship since 1997. Meyer instructed Netflix cameras that he thought he was “going to have enjoyable” teaching for the remainder of his life after the massive win.
“[It was] most likely essentially the most incorrect assertion to come back out of a human being’s mouth,” he stated.
Whereas Swamp Kings solely scratched the floor with regards to off display scandals surrounding the Florida crew (together with a number of arrests and Aaron Hernandez’s arrest and conviction for the homicide of Odin Lloyd), Meyer’s private ups and downs have been explored. After the Gators secured their second nationwide championship through the 2008-09 season, he felt the strain to proceed this system’s success.
“We go within the locker room and I keep in mind grabbing my telephone, locking the door. I can hear them celebrating and I’m texting recruits, fearful concerning the subsequent class,” Meyer recalled of moments after Florida beat Oklahoma in January 2009. “You gained two nationwide championships out of the three years, this was an expectation now — an expectation now we have to win it subsequent yr, after which now we have to win it the yr after. … Something lower than successful a nationwide title and also you’re a failure.”
Whereas Tebow shocked some followers by returning for the 2009 season, Meyer wasn’t on his greatest recreation.
City Meyer FilmMagic
“Nothing was ok in ‘09. We might win a recreation by 14 factors and I’d be so indignant at our crew as a result of I assumed we should always’ve beat them by 30 factors,” Meyer stated. “We’re undefeated and your entire time I’m in anguish about not being excellent, and it permeated all the way down to our gamers.”
Meyer famous he was “in a extremely unhealthy place for a very long time.”
“I began to drop some pounds, and I grew to become hooked on Ambien. I couldn’t sleep, so I’d take an Ambien after which that was not working. So it bought to the purpose the place I’d drink two Ambien and drink a beer on high of it simply to get 4 hours of sleep,” he stated. “I’d have these moments the place I’d simply sit there and I’d begin sweating, shaking, like, a panic assault. Like, ‘One thing’s occurring right here. We’re not prepared, we’re not prepared.’”
The No. 1 Gators ended the 2009 season undefeated however misplaced to No. 2 Alabama within the SEC Championship recreation that December. “I felt like a failure. I used to be in a deep melancholy,” Meyer stated. “I couldn’t get off the bed. … [I had] no vitality, no need. I assumed I used to be going to die.”
Meyer then introduced he wasn’t returning for the 2010 season.
“Everybody’s shocked. A variety of guys are in tears, and I feel some guys have been mad. Some guys have been emotional,” Tebow stated. “We’re taking part in for the SEC Championship, No. 1 crew within the nation, about to win one other SEC and go play for an additional Nationwide Championship. We lose, we’re shocked, we’re shocked. A pair days later, he says he’s retiring, he’s unwell — what occurred.”
Whereas Meyer modified his thoughts two months later and returned for the 2010 season, he introduced his exit once more after the crew went 8-5.
“You possibly can chase perfection all you need, you’re going to come back up empty-handed. I did all the things I [could] simply to maintain myself and that program going,” Meyer stated. “I hope sometime to apology and say, ‘I want it might’ve ended in a different way,’ however I can at all times look again and say we gave it our perfect.’”
Citing well being points, Meyer took the 2011 season off and went on to teach at OSU in 2012, successful the first-ever Faculty Soccer Playoff Nationwide Championship in 2014. Ryan Day took over the top teaching job for the Buckeyes in 2018, whereas Meyer started a broadcasting profession. In 2021, he grew to become the top coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a stint that ended with the NFL crew going 2-11 and resulted in Meyer having one of many shortest teaching tenures within the league’s historical past.
“It was the worst expertise I’ve had in my skilled lifetime,” Meyer stated on the “Don’t @ Me” podcast in 2022. “What actually bought me, I virtually don’t need to say individuals settle for it, I imply, you lose a recreation, and also you simply hold … I’d critically have self-talk. I went by means of that complete melancholy factor too, the place I’d stare on the ceilings and [think] ‘Are we doing all the things potential?’ as a result of I actually believed we had a roster that was ok to win video games. I simply don’t assume we did an ideal job.”
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Untold: Swamp Kings begins streaming on Netflix Tuesday, August 22.
