Following Lee Corso’s retirement, it’s now up to Nick Saban to provide the head coach’s perspective on ESPN’s College GameDay each Saturday.
But if it were up to Paul Finbaum, Corso wouldn’t be the only talent to leave ESPN’s weekly morning pregame show this season.
During Monday’s episode of Get Up, host Mike Greenberg questioned the longtime SEC personality about the reaction he’ll receive to Alabama’s season-opening loss to Florida State on The Paul Finebaum Show. And when presented with a “fact or fiction” prompt regarding calls for Saban to return Tuscaloosa, Finebaum couldn’t seem to end the 7-time national champion’s current media career fast enough.
“That would be fact. Bring him back. Get him off the GameDay set, put him out there today. Don’t waste a moment,” the 70-year-old said.
Asked by Greenberg whether the Crimson Tide’s Week 1 loss was truly “that bad,” Finebaum confirmed it to be so. In addition to referring to Alabama as “soft” and “undisciplined,” he also pointed to head coach Kalen DeBoer losing quarterback Julian Sayin and safety Caleb Downs to Ohio State via the transfer portal shortly after his hiring as key factors in the Tide’s current predicament.
“And you wonder why Ohio State is looking so good right now and Alabama is shaky,” he said, before further stating his case for a Saban return. “And besides, Nick Saban is wasting his time on GameDay. With all due respect to the network, three-and-a-half 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.”
Regardless of his DeBoer’s sizable buyout, this doesn’t seem like a conversation that’s going away anytime soon, especially with a high profile matchup against No. 5 Georgia just a few weeks away. Saban, meanwhile, has insisted that he’s not eyeing a potential return to coaching — although he also couldn’t have imagined his successor in Tuscaloosa already being on the hot seat so soon.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.