Paul Finebaum says top Michigan coaching target handled question 'very poorly'

Despite putting out a statement Sunday on social media saying he has "no interest in speaking with anyone else about any other job" and is "fully committed" to Alabama, coach Kalen DeBoer continues to face questions about his future while perceived as a top target for the open Michigan job.

The matter came up again on Monday at DeBoer's College Football Playoff news conference when he was asked very directly, "Are you going to be the coach of Alabama next year?"

"Man, come on," he said, smiling. "All right, I put a statement out yesterday because ... first of all, our guys handle distractions phenomenally. It's been that way all season long -- they continue to do that. But I also knew that yesterday and today was pretty important, and I wasn't going to see you till today to address it, so that's why I put that out there.

"A lot of the same things I said before a couple weeks ago when asked really the same question. Just feel completely supported, my family loves living here, just all the things that we continue to build on, love the progress, haven't talked with anyone, no plans of talking with anyone, so I think that's a lot of what I said a couple of weeks ago and continues to be the same thing. I feel strong about it."

He was asked a follow-up, "Just for clarification and going back to [the previous] question, will you be the coach at Alabama next season?"

DeBoer laughed and said "I plan on being ... yes. Nick, yes. Charlie, yes," addressing the two reporters.

Kalen DeBoer on staying with Alabama 🐘❤️ pic.twitter.com/IgUiJcCGdF
— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) December 15, 2025

That wasn't good enough for Paul Finebaum, who took aim at DeBoer during his appearance on ESPN's "First Take" on Tuesday.

"He handled it very poorly because the question was very simple: Do you plan on being at Alabama next year? That is the most easy question in the world to answer. The answer is 'Yes, I do.' You don't even have to go, 'Yes, I do' -- you can simply say, 'Yes,'" Finebaum said. "Instead, Kalen DeBoer offered a lot of nothing. It was just really a pathetic word salad. It seemed to me like obfuscation.

"I don't think he's leaving, and everyone that I've spoken to in Tuscaloosa believes very strongly he will be there win or lose Friday night, more than likely getting an extension because that's just the way it works nowadays in college football, but why all the long, inane comments?

"It really was not necessary, and it makes me think a little bit that maybe he really isn't that comfortable there. Happy is one thing, comfortable is another."

DeBoer's No. 9-seeded Crimson Tide (10-3) faces No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2) in the first round of the CFP on Friday night in Norman, Oklahoma. It's a rematch as the Sooners beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, 23-21, last month.