Paul Finebaum calls out Nick Saban for ‘excuse’ on Alabama’s 2021 season

Nick Saban referred to Alabama football’s 2021 campaign as a rebuilding year and Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back calling the head coach out for it.

ESPN is known for its infatuation with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Nick Saban. Among their most notable advocates is Paul Finebaum.

However, all that was tossed aside when Finebaum called out Saban for his “rebuilding” comments regarding the 2021 season, an 11-2 finish, and SEC Championship with a Rose Bowl victory and berth in the National Championship. Finebaum delivered his remarks on “Get Up,” citing Saban’s comments as nothing more than an “excuse.”

"“This is very predictable if you follow Nick Saban closely. Whenever he loses a game, like a national championship game, here comes the excuse. Here comes the Nick Saban grievance tour. I mean sometimes I don’t know whether Nick Saban is trying to continue to be the greatest coach of all time or he wants Jimmy Kimmel’s job. I don’t really understand it. Quite frankly, at some point, it’s not a great look. And I know that’s not a popular thing to say where I live because Nick Saban can do no wrong. But first it was NIL that the was complaining about over and over, and now he’s quibbling about what happened last year.”"

Finebaum didn’t stop there, bringing up several other examples of Saban looking for an “excuse” to justify defeat, such as the Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma and the Ohio State game where Ezekiel Elliot torched Saban en route to a national championship and how that game had an impact on that year’s NFL Draft.

"“He called the Sugar Bowl a couple of years ago a consolation game,” Finebaum said. “He blamed the NFL draft on the loss to Ohio State when Ezekiel Elliott was there. There’s always something with Nick Saban, but we still love him, don’t we?”"

Paul Finebaum took Nick Saban to task for calling 2021 a ‘rebuilding year’ with Alabama

Wow. If anything, Paul Finebaum deserves a standing ovation for this outspoken and, matter of fact, harsh criticism of Nick Saban. At one point, we thought it was just Jimbo Fisher or Skip Bayless who would go so far as to comment about Saban and his legacy and commentary.

Finebaum has joined the party, at least in this case. Still, he does make a valid point. However, it would be unfair not to recall how he and others made excuses for Saban after the 2019 National Championship game, a 44-16 loss to Trevor Lawrence, Dabo Swinney, and the Clemson Tigers.

Nonetheless, even Nick Saban is not immune from criticism, even if it comes from some of his biggest supporters. FOX Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe called out Saban for the situation involving Texas A&M, Jackson State, and Alabama. Now Paul Finebaum has chimed in about the excuse-making. Sounds like the truth hurts.

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