Paul Finebaum Makes Plea to ESPN to Clear Path for Nick Saban's Alabama Return

Things did not get off to a rip-roaring start here in 2025 for the Alabama Crimson Tide and coach Kalen DeBoer, who saw his No. 8-ranked team go to Tallahassee and get drubbed by Florida State, 31-17. The loss brings into focus the fact that DeBoer, since taking over in Tuscaloosa following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban, has now gone 5-5 in his last 10 games after starting 4-0 last season.

For a team with a standard as high as that of the Crimson Tide, that's obviously unacceptable.

Saban had a total of six losses in his final four seasons at Alabama, with a record of 49-6 from 2020 through 2023. With games ahead against Wisconsin and Georgia, DeBoer could pass six losses by the end of his second September on the job. (And at this rate, a win over UL-Monroe is no sure thing.)

Alabama Played 'Soft' vs. Florida State

That got ESPN college football guru Paul Finebaum up in arms about the state of the program. In fact he (only half-jokingly, we think) had a plea for executives at the network this week: Let Saban out of his "College GameDay" contract so that he can return to the Alabama sidelines in place of DeBoer.

“Bring him back, get him off 'GameDay,' put him out there today,” Finebaum said on ESPN's morning show, "Get Up. "“Don’t waste a moment. It was that bad. This team is soft, they’re undisciplined. You have a left tackle who’s supposed to be the No. 1 offensive lineman in the country. He got blown up a couple of times."

Finebaum was referring to Kadyn Proctor, the anchor of a line that allowed three sacks on the day. The problems went well beyond Proctor, of course. As linebacker Qua Russaw said of the team's film session, "You wouldn’t want to be in there.”

How Nick Saban Could Fix the Crimson Tide

While there were plenty of Xs and Os complaints on the Crimson Tide (why did they abandon the run, where was Ryan Williams?) Finebaum sees big-picture issues as well. DeBoer has struggled when it comes to getting--and keeping--Alabama's top recruits, and the results showed up on Saturday.

On Saban, Finebaum insinuated, can fix it.

"Julian Sayin the quarterback, (he’s) at Ohio State. He was on the roster. When Kalen DeBoer got there, Kalen DeBoer mispronounced his name. He was gone. Caleb Downs, remember him? He was on the roster," Finebaum said.

“And you wonder why Ohio State is looking so good right now, and Alabama is shaky, and besides, Nick Saban is wasting his time on 'GameDay,' with all due respect to the network … 3.5 million people watching. But, please, bosses down the street, let him go, let him out of the contract. Let him be there Saturday at Nick Saban field.”