Somehow, Paul Finebaum is Doubling Down on His Awful Arch Manning Take

On ESPN’s “Get Up” yesterday, Paul Finebaum declared that Texas quarterback Arch Manning is the “best college football quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006,” a jaw-dropping comparison that triggered instant backlash.

The claim elevated Manning well above other recent stars like Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, and Lamar Jackson, names many consider the better all-time performers, but Finebaum stood his ground even as criticism flooded in.

In today’s broadcast, Finebaum was playing the victim.

He claimed that “the whole country attacked him” over the Tebow comparison, and rather than retracting the statement, he doubled down, defending Manning’s pedigree and lineage and insisting that the heightened expectations were fair.

His staunch defense kept him from tamping down the controversy, turning a bold endorsement into a polarizing media moment.