Urban Meyer recalls being booed by Florida fans after loss to Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Urban Meyer is the only Florida football head coach to win 2 national championships, leading the Gators to titles in 2006 and ’08. Back in 2005, Meyer wasn’t sure he could make it at UF.
Meyer’s UF tenure is spotlighted in the Netflix documentary “Untold: Swamp Kings,” set for release on Tuesday. According to Brad Crawford of 247Sports, the documentary includes Meyer recalling being booed by Gator fans in Gainesville after returning home from a road loss to Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks in 2005.
“After that loss at South Carolina, I walk into this restaurant in Gainesville, Florida and they boo me … they boo me,” Meyer said in the documentary. “People started to question me as a leader and to say that I lost my confidence … I certainly lost my confidence. I’ve never had that much doubt. I thought there’s a decent chance this one’s over.”
Florida fans are not known for their patience. After Steve Spurrier’s 12 seasons (1990-2001), Meyer’s tenure of 6 seasons is the longest for a UF head coach. Ron Zook, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen all lasted 4 seasons or fewer.
Billy Napier is entering his second season as Florida’s head coach. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum recently shared his thoughts on how Gator fans are treating Napier going into 2023.
“Florida fans are cannibalistic,” Finebaum said. “They may talk a good game on August 14, but they don’t talk the same game on December 15.”
Urban Meyer says in 'UNTOLD: Swamp Kings' that he questioned job security at Florida after loss to Steve Spurrier: https://t.co/6R2IqQA5M3 pic.twitter.com/6Fj0LeehHF
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 18, 2023
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
