One of the voices of the SEC in ESPN’s Paul Finebaum made some headlines early on during SEC Media Days week in Tampa, Florida during a discussion about Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Finebaum — who has praised DeBoer in the past but also questioned whether or not he’s the right coach for Alabama — ripped into the Crimson Tide head coach’s level of success his first two years during an appearance on “First Take.”
Paul Finebaum provided a BOLD take on Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer during this morning’s episode of @FirstTake.
“Kalen DeBoer has just made a mess out of a great situation,” Finebaum said, “He’s lost eight games in two years.” 😳
What are your thoughts on Finebaum’s comments? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tlUCbOBSZ2
— Crimson Coverage (@CrimsonCoverage) July 21, 2026
“Kalen DeBoer has just made a mess out of a great situation,” Finebaum said. “He’s lost eight games in two years. He lost to Florida State last year who was total trash and should’ve fired its coach. He lost to Oklahoma at home, yeah he won a playoff game, he also was down 17-0, Oklahoma had a 17-0 lead and completely choked the game away…let’s not get carried away with DeBoer, he’s an excellent coach but is he the right coach at Alabama?”
Finebaum has never been afraid to throw a coach under the bus, but DeBoer has undeniably experienced success at Alabama. Perhaps it’s not up to the standard of Nick Saban thus far, but any coach in the country would have experienced a drop off from the greatest in the history of the sport.
He is certainly correct in saying the Tide has fallen short of the goals the last two years though, and the next two had better see more success than the first two under DeBoer. As for Finebaum, he will be there to give his take whether things go well or things go poorly this season.
