Nick Saban jokes Paul Finebaum tried to ruin his life the past 17 years

Now that Nick Saban and Paul Finebaum are colleagues at ESPN, the two college football titans can break bread and not be at each other’s necks. Their relationship was not contentious, but Finebaum was never afraid to criticize Saban when he saw fit. He didn’t treat the former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach like he treats Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, but the gloves came off occasionally.

Saban has gone at Finebaum on and off the air, while Finebaum has spent time on ESPN’s First Take questioning the legacy of the most accomplished college coach of the century. Finebaum also took Saban to task in the past calendar year, accusing him of bullying the local media over depth charts.

But whatever transpired before is likely water under the bridge.

Still, that didn’t prevent Saban from making some quips about it.

Finebaum bemoaned on Get Up Monday while live from the SEC Media Days at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas, that the absence of Saban in Tuscaloosa has made his life miserable over the past six months. Of course, we can all revel in his callers going off the rails after Saban announced his retirement from coaching. But in the months since, Finebaum has had a shortage of content. You can talk about Kalen DeBoer meeting expectations until you’re blue in the face, but that doesn’t do well for ratings; Nick Saban does.

But Saban used Finebaum’s misery to take a playful jab at his former adversary turned colleague.

.@finebaum: “This has been the worst six months of my life without Nick Saban.”

Nick Saban: “He tried to ruin mine for 17 years, so I guess we’re even.” 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/2hw06iVUrS

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 15, 2024

“Well, he tried to ruin mine for 17 years, so I guess we’re even,” Saban quipped.

As Mike Greenberg said, it was beautifully played.

Saban seems to be good at this media thing.

[Get Up]