Paul Finebaum says Nick Saban has been soft on disciplining players
By Jack Crosby
Paul Finebaum, like many others out there, believes that Alabama head coach Nick Saban is not harsh enough with his disciplining.
There’s long been a narrative that college football radio host and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum is the ultimate Nick Saban fanboy. Most of the time can be heard defending the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide and Saban, which is what leads many to call him out in the first place for showing too much love for the defending SEC Champions. However, there have been a few times where Finebaum has said something to shoot that narrative down, and that’s what happened on Monday.
During an appearance on SportsCenter to discuss the recent DUI arrest of defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand, Finebaum echoed the sentiment of many over the weekend when he noted that Saban should, at the very least, make Hand sit out a game as punishment, something that might not happen at all given some Saban’s history when it comes to disciplining players. Finebaum then doubled down on the criticism by stating that Saban has often been too soft when it comes to punishing players who find themselves in less-than-favorable situations.
When the news first broke over the weekend that Hand was arrested, it immediately led to speculation that he could miss the huge opening game against the Florida State Seminoles in Atlanta on September 2. However, much like Finebaum did on Monday, some pointed toward Saban usually dealing with these instances internally, which sometimes is void of a suspension.
As a matter of fact, just last year Finebaum and Saban got into a heated exchange when talking about Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones facing weapons charges. The charges were later dismissed, however, the two players did not face a suspension, rather they just had to meet a few conditions for their transgressions.
Next: 30 bucket list items for college football fans
It remains to be seen whether or not Saban will make Hand sit a game, whether that’s the Florida State game or one of the easier ones early on in the season, but the cries for a harsher discipline will continue to roll in.