Paul Finebaum takes shot at Lane Kiffin with Kalen DeBoer comparison

Before Michigan eventually hired Kyle Whittingham as its new head football coach, the hot prospect was Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.

While the second-year head coach remains with the Crimson Tide, who he has in the College Football Playoff this season, Paul Finebaum believes the Wolverines’ interest in him underscores that Alabama’s decision to hire him was the right one.

The ESPN and SEC Network host said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning that Michigan’s pursuit of DeBoer was validation for Alabama faithful that they had the right coach for the job.

“This should say that when Greg Byrne went out and hired a coach nearly three years ago, he picked the best of the bunch that are available,” Finebaum stated. “I think what you have to look at is, would you rather have Kalen DeBoer or Brent Venables? Would you rather have Kalen DeBoer more than a number of other coaches?”

Finebaum even went as far as to say that DeBoer is on a path that puts him among the SEC’s most elite coaches.

“I think he’s going to come out very much near the top of the SEC,” Finebaum added. “He’s going to rank, I think, ahead of everyone else, other than maybe even Kirby Smart.”

The ESPN host even went a step further, taking a not-so-subtle shot at LSU’s new coach, Lane Kiffin, by noting that he thinks many schools would rather have DeBoer head their program.

“Quite frankly, would you rather have Lane Kiffin or Kalen DeBoer?” Finebaum said. “I know I heard a lot of people say that recently, but what are you getting with Lane Kiffin, other than maybe more chaos?”

There’s a bit of irony in all of this as Finebaum has been one of DeBoer’s most vocal critics since he was hired. Amid his first season in charge at Alabama, the SEC Network talent said he was “not that impressed” by DeBoer at the time. He also said before the 2025 season that Nick Saban should unretire and return to Alabama.

Sounds like he’s changed his tune since then.