Paul Finebaum Doesn't Believe Kalen DeBoer Can Win at Alabama

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One can argue that the Alabama Crimson Tide are one of the most scrutinized programs in all of college football.

Ever since the legendary Nick Saban retired as the head coach, after one of the most dominant runs in college football history, all eyes have been on his successor  – Kalen DeBoer.

Since DeBoer took over, the Crimson Tide have gone 20-8, which includes a bowl loss in his first season, and a deflating Rose Bowl defeat last season.

And after two seasons at the helm, it looks like media personalities are already throwing in the towel for him.

Stephen A. Smith called him out. Dan Orlovsky called him out last season. Paul Finebaum hasn’t been shy about his criticism, either.

Finebaum hopped on the Crain & Cone Show for On3, and during a featured episode called “Buy or Sell,” he made his feelings known on whether Alabama can win a title with him as a head coach.

“I think Kalen DeBoer is a good coach,” Finebaum said. “I think everybody does. The question is, can he win a championship at Alabama? And my answer is no. Sometimes these fits are really good. Sometimes they're close to being good. This one's okay. Alabama's unique and really in the last 60 years, only three people have won national championships at Alabama.”

What was fascinating about Finebaum’s statement was that he thinks DeBoer is a championship-caliber coach. It’s where he is which is the proverbial poison pill.

“We all saw he came within a reasonable chance of winning it at Washington. I think he could probably have won one in Michigan. Alabama's different. I'm selling.”

Though the road has been rather bumpy, we’ve seen DeBoer handle the SEC fairly well. He came into Georgia and won Between the Hedges, won four straight ranked contests, and managed to pull out a win on the road in the College Football Playoffs.

DeBoer can handle the heat, it’s about living up to the programs that have seemingly “passed him by.”

There may be a lot of pessimism surrounding the program and how it’s fallen behind in terms of resources and NIL, but the recruiting aspect of the game has stayed steady.

Because of that, bringing in talent doesn’t seem like the hard part, it’s getting the players to buy in. 

In his first two seasons as head coach, DeBoer has held a top-10 recruiting class. For 2027, even though it’s not finished yet, signs are pointing to it being close to the 30s or 40s – even though that was by design.

Shifting gears, DeBoer has been aggressive in his pursuit for the 2028 class, currently holding the second-ranked class.

Finebaum's prediction is impossible to prove right now, but that's what makes these debates compelling.

Two seasons into his tenure, declaring DeBoer incapable of winning a title at Alabama feels premature, especially when the talent acquisition pipeline remains intact.

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