Paul Finebaum Names Historic College Football Program With No Chance at Winning it All

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been arguably the greatest college football program in the history of the sport.

One of their best runs of dominance came under Nick Saban from 2007-23. During that time, he won six national championships.

However, he unexpectedly retired following the 2023 season. Many believe the new era of college football with NIL and the transfer portal played a large role in this decision.

Life After Nick Saban

The Crimson Tide then elected to hire Kalen DeBoer after he led the Washington Huskies to the national championship game that year. His two seasons have been up and down. He went 9-4 in Year 1, but didn't make the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff.

He bounced back with an 11-4 season in 2025. That year, Alabama made the SEC Championship Game but was blown out against the Georgia Bulldogs.

It then made the College Football Playoff, but after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners, the Crimson Tide were blown out by the Indiana Hoosiers in the quarterfinals.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer talks on the sideline during the Rose Bowl. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Paul Finebaum Isn't Sold

On "The Paul Finebaum Show," the SEC Network analyst was asked about the Crimson Tide's chances to win a national championship this season, but Finebaum doesn't feel that will happen.

"I don't, no," Finebaum said. "I think they'll have a good team. I think they're a playoff team, but I don't know if they have the firepower to win it all. I think they potentially have a good quarterback, but do they have an offensive line that can protect that quarterback? Do they have any chance of running the ball? ... I have to see a little more to believe it."

Alabama's Standard Hasn't Changed

It would have been blasphemous to say that Alabama has no chance of winning it all when Saban was at the helm. But this just shows how much the program has fallen under DeBoer.

The Crimson Tide are still considered one of the best in the conference, but are no longer considered a legit contender to win it all. That won't fly with Crimson Tide fans. That is why there is pressure on DeBoer to get things figured out and turn it around.

The standard set by Saban and Bear Bryant before him is championships. Nothing less. The fans don't care that you improved in Year 2 and returned to the College Football Playoff. All they care about is what you did when you got there.

So, it doesn't help DeBoer's case that once he got there, he lost by five touchdowns to the Hoosiers.

At Alabama, progress is only appreciated if it eventually leads back to the top of the sport. DeBoer has shown enough to keep hope alive, but hope is not the same thing as trust in Tuscaloosa.

Until he proves he can build a team capable of winning a national championship, every good season will still feel incomplete, and every shortcoming will keep the pressure squarely on his shoulders.

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