Paul Finebaum Blasts Nick Saban for Lowering the Bar for Kalen DeBoer

Former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban has spent the summer softening the ground under Kalen DeBoer. He called the 50-player roster turnover a fair reason to lower Alabama's 2026 ceiling. Or at least the frequent haters who call into question whether DeBoer can be the guy in Tuscaloosa.

Longtime college football talking head Paul Finebaum heard all of it, went on Get Up, and told Mike Greenberg he refuses to accept a version of Alabama in which losing is fine.

Maybe he has a valid reason for concern. There are so many examples of college football programs falling off after losing their legendary coach and never quite recovering. You can go back to Nebraska's Tom Osbourne, Florida State's Bobby Bowden, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and we may be watching the early stages happen as we speak with Clemson's Dabo Swinney.

Paul Finebaum responds to Nick Saban's comments

Saban has been careful with his words about DeBoer for months. He praised the third-year coach for taking a hard job, pointed to a strong defense that could carry the team early, and framed the questions about the offensive line and quarterback as the actual hurdles, not DeBoer.

"I think Kalen has done a really, really good job of trying to build that culture, but you never know how 50 new players are going to respond to it, and I think that's going to be the key for him," Saban said on SEC Network.

Finebaum is not buying the gentle framing. Speaking with ESPN's Greenberg on Get Up, the SEC Network analyst tore into the idea that Saban should be lowering the standard for the man who replaced him.

"Alabama was No. 1 in the country for at some point 15 straight years. They were the favorite, I think, at all but one game during a 16-game stretch. And Nick Saban's now trying to dumb down the DeBoer expectations. And I'm not having it. Alabama still has great players. They still have everything that you have to have. And I just don't like the fact that the former coach is trying to soft-pedal his successor.

“Stop it, coach, already. … Nick Saban’s trying to dumb down the DeBoer expectations, and I’m not buying it.”@finebaum reacts to Nick Saban’s comments on Alabama’s low preseason ranking 😬⬇️ pic.twitter.com/M6AF9DkEYm
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 5, 2026

"It's like the dad telling the young son, 'It's okay if you strike out at the Little League game.' It's not okay at Alabama! And that's the problem a lot of people have with Kalen DeBoer. They question whether he has the right DNA. And when 'Daddy Saban' comes in and puts his arms around him after eight losses in two seasons and inexplicable losses, it just doesn't play very well in Sweet Home Alabama."

You can tell by the timbre of Finebaum's voice that we're getting close to college football season. He brings an extra layer of intensity and volume when it's less than a month away from kickoff.

Ultimately, DeBoer has gone 20-8 across two seasons in Tuscaloosa, including a Week 1 loss at Florida State in 2025 and a 38-3 wipeout against Indiana in the Rose Bowl to end last year. Is that really so bad in two short years since Saban's retirement?

The real question should be about Kalen DeBoer's replacement

The 15 straight years at No. 1 were Saban years, built by the greatest run any program has ever had. Measuring DeBoer against that is measuring every human alive against the tallest person who ever lived.

DeBoer has taken two different programs to the College Football Playoff. He reached the national title game at Washington in 2023 and got Alabama its first playoff win since 2021 last season. That is the record of a man who is not Nick Saban, which is a category that includes everyone.

The better question is the one Finebaum keeps skipping. If DeBoer is not the guy, then who is? The names that get floated do not hold up. Brian Kelly went 145-61 before LSU and still could not survive Baton Rouge.

A picture of Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer. Yes, that is who has the job. Apologies to Bama fans. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Alabama already hand-picked DeBoer over a wide field when Saban walked away. There is no proven, available, Alabama-caliber coach sitting on a shelf who has done more in the last two years than DeBoer has.

Ty Simpson is gone to the Los Angeles Rams as a first-round pick, and the quarterback job is an open fight between senior Austin Mack and sophomore Keelon Russell, neither of whom has started a full season. The offensive line needs a lot of work. The defense looks strong enough to keep Alabama in most games while the offense sorts itself out.

That is a team that can win nine or ten games and possibly reach the playoff again. Whether that counts as success depends entirely on which yardstick you use. Finebaum wants the Saban yardstick. Saban seems to understand that his own yardstick was never going to be fair to the next coach holding it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google