Alabama Football: Paul Finebaum could be on to something

Whatever your opinion of the daily Paul Finebaum Show, when Paul is interviewed by others about Alabama football, it pays to listen.

Even if you think many of Paul Finebaum’s callers are “on something” rather than being “on to something,” when Finebaum is the interviewee, paying attention is warranted. When Paul is answering questions about Alabama football, he can be insightful.

In fairness to Finebaum, he is a superb interviewer as well. Frequently, his interviews with those possessing expert knowledge are some of the best in sports media.

Recently Finebaum was asked to comment on Cellini and Dimino of 680 The Fan about the rivalry between Alabama football and the Georgia Bulldogs. Finebaum discussed the rivalry primarily in the context of the impact Kirby Smart has had on Nick Saban since Smart became the Georgia head coach.

A succinct summary is Finebaum believes Smart is the one coach who has “gotten inside Nick Saban’s head.” How much does Finebaum believe Smart has negatively affected the Alabama football program? Enough to have cost the Alabama Crimson Tide a national championship.

Finebaum explained his premise by saying when Kirby and Georgia gained the 2018, No. 1 recruiting class, it “drove Saban off the deep end.” Finebaum explained Nick’s response was to fire coaches and bring in hot recruiters. Paul furthered contended those “recruiters … could not coach.”

Somewhere between plausible and probable is how we define Finebaum’s argument. Five 2017 assistants did not remain with the Crimson Tide for the 2018 season.  Brian Daboll proved to be a bad fit for college football and returned to the NFL. Jeremy Pruitt left for his own head coaching gig. Burton Burns wanted off the field and was moved into football administration. Derrick Ansley and Karl Dunbar also left for NFL opportunities. Since Pruitt and Burns chose other opportunities, only one coach who left was a big loss. That was Derrick Ansley and he was also considered a top recruiter.

Saban’s post-2017, staff overhaul did elevate a top recruiter, Tosh Lupoi into a coaching position he ultimately could not handle.

Other new 2018 assistants were viewed differently. No one has argued Josh Gattis was a weak coach. He was a strong recruiter who sought rapid career advancement. There was widespread praise for Dan Enos’ efforts with Crimson Tide QBs, though the praise faded quickly with his abrupt exit from the program.

What does make Finebaum’s assertion more credible is the relative ease with which Clemson dismantled the Crimson Tide. Finebaum argued, as have others before him, that Clemson’s coaching continuity gave it a big advantage over the Crimson Tide in the national championship game.

Clemson was the better prepared team. The Alabama football staff appeared incapable of making productive in-game adjustments. It is probably true the better coaching staff came out as winners. But, it could be even more true that the best football team won the national championship game. At the least, the better football team on the night that most mattered in the 2018 season.

The value of change versus continuity is as hard to argue as the nature versus nurture debate. The point of optimum performance is somewhere in the balance between new ideas and consistency. Has Nick Saban found that point for the 2019 season? All we know is don’t bother asking a Finebaum caller.

As much as Kirby Smart wishes it, we doubt he occupies even a speck of a place inside Nick Saban’s head. Unless the Georgia Bulldogs can win some games against Saban’s Crimson Tide, Kirby will remain another irritant, yearning to, but failing to topple Nick.