Paul Finebaum turns up the heat on Kalen DeBoer with perception of Alabama football

The media personality isn't shying away from cranking up the heat on the Alabama coach.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl - Alabama v Michigan State
Goodyear Cotton Bowl - Alabama v Michigan State | Scott Halleran/GettyImages

Paul Finebaum has made a career out of stirring the pot and drumming up controversy. When there's smoke, Finebaum loves to stoke the flames. It makes for good radio and he is one of the most well known sports commentators in the country now.

He's been waiting a long time to go on the offensive against Alabama again. Finebaum was always very critical of the Crimson Tide and Mike Shula during that era, but Nick Saban's run of dominance left him with little to poke at Alabama at. He is a Tennessee grad, after all.

Coming off of a disappointing 9-4 season in 2024, Kalen DeBoer's first in Tuscaloosa, there's already frustration and angst building in the Alabama fanbase. Finebaum senses it, and on Thursday he decided to stoke the flames a little bit.

In speaking to On3, Finebaum unleashed a quote that is sure to rifle some feathers.

"The perception of Alabama right now is diminished," said Finebaum.

He's not wrong. Alabama is not at the top of college football anymore. There's more doubt about the direction of the program than there has been since before Saban arrived at the Capstone. The Crimson Tide missing the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff was unthinkable.

Alabama seemed ill-prepared to play in each of its four defeats. DeBoer didn't seem to understand what it took to win week-to-week in the SEC. After an emotional win over Georgia in late September, Alabama followed it up by losing to Vanderbilt the very next week.

The loss to Tennessee a few weeks later was frustrating, but not all that damaging. It was the November loss to Oklahoma, two weeks removed from a dominating effort in Baton Rouge against LSU, that was perhaps even more shocking than the Vanderbilt defeat.

Alabama went ahead and laid another egg in the ReliaQuest Bowl for good measure to finish with less than 10 wins for the first time since 2007.

It's playoff or bust for DeBoer, Alabama in 2025

“The first part of it is he has to get to the playoffs,” Finebaum said. “I felt going into Year One, it was playoff or bust. I don’t think anything has changed. That is just a description, that doesn’t mean his job changes because he doesn’t make the playoffs"

Missing the College Football Playoff for a second straight season would be a disastrous result for DeBoer. You can chalk up year one to perhaps a poor schematic fit at QB, DeBoer trying to hold the roster together, and an inexperienced playcaller in Nick Sheridan at OC.

This year, DeBoer gets to pick his QB from the three who are battling for it. He also has long-time offensive assistant Ryan Grubb back in the fold after a year apart. He has the staff he wanted in Tuscaloosa from the beginning, and he has a roster better suited to what he wants to do.

There are no more excuses for him or this team. Alabama has to get to the playoff in year two under DeBoer or year three will be filled with nothing but hot seat talk. And you can bet Finebaum will love every minute of it, if that's the case.

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