Paul Finebaum Outlines Kalen DeBoer's Hot Seat Heading Into 2026

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ESPN personality Paul Finebaum isn't afraid to call out Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer on national television, that's for sure.

DeBoer, who took over as Alabama's head coach in 2024, is coming off an 11-4 season where he reached the second round of the College Football Playoff. That being said, Alabama was handed a 38-3 loss from Indiana during the Rose Bowl.

During this Thursday's edition of "Get Up," Finebaum was asked what scenario would need to happen for DeBoer to end up on the hot seat. He believes the head coach needs to make the CFP in order to feel safe about his job.

"If he misses the playoffs, that's the bare minimum. It used to be winning the national championship. Now, it's making the playoffs and avoiding a 35-point loss like he did last year in the Rose Bowl," Finebaum said. "It was the surrender in the fourth quarter by Alabama that still has Alabama fans angry. They've never seen that before from the Crimson Tide."

Finebaum isn't confident in DeBoer.

While he won't predict Alabama missing the CFP this season, Finebaum said DeBoer will never win a national championship in Tuscaloosa.

"I'll spare you the 'I think Kalen DeBoer is a good football coach.' I think everybody does. The question is, 'is he going to win a championship at Alabama?' And my answer is no," Finebaum said. "In the last 60 years, only three people have won national championships, two of them happen to be the greatest coach of all-time on the day they retired. At Alabama, you can be unique, you can be different, but Kalen DeBoer, to me, just doesn't have the right ingredients to win the title there."

DeBoer, who owns a 20-8 record with the Crimson Tide, has tried his best to ignore all his critics.

Make no mistake though, it'll be tough to tune out Finebaum if Alabama struggles this fall.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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