Paul Finebaum on Nick Saban's legacy Photo credit: First Take

We’re well past the point of running out of things to talk about this offseason. The SEC Football Media Days officially kicked off at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Nashville on Monday. And yet, First Take and Paul Finebaum actually spent time questioning Nick Saban’s legacy at Alabama.

Monday’s edition of First Take spent time discussing if any team in the country can beat Georgia this season, which is in pursuit of its third straight College Football Playoff National Championship. The obvious answer within the Southeastern Conference is the University of Alabama.

“That does not take a rocket scientist—which I am not—to come up with,” Finbeaum quipped.

From here, the conversation seemingly shifted over to Alabama potentially missing the playoffs for a second year in a row and how that would affect Saban’s legacy.

“But if for some reason Alabama does miss the playoffs again this year, are we going to be talking about Nick Saban’s legacy in a different light?”

“I think, yes, you have to. And first of all, nothing is going to take away from what he’s accomplished and for those who don’t follow this closely, he’s won six national championships at Alabama since arriving in 2007,” Finebaum said of Saban. “He won another one at LSU. But, if he is in the same league as somebody (Georgia coach Kirby Smart) who is now at the end of the season won three, then that’s a big hit on his legacy.

“I think you also have to question Saban for what happened last year. He had the best team in the country going in. They were nearly unanimous. And at the NFL Draft, in case anybody wasn’t paying attention, let me refresh your memory. He had the best offensive player and defensive player. Will Anderson on defense and, of course, the Heisman Trophy winner from two years ago and the No. 1 pick, Bryce Young.

“And with that, he still couldn’t get it done. The defense let him down. There were mental lapses across the board. They had 17 penalties in the Texas game. I think they had just as many (penalties) against Tennessee. And some of the coaching was subpar too…Those are serious questions and one more thing about Alabama, two new coordinators…They don’t have an established quarterback.”

Yes, the same Saban whose Alabama teams have posted a 128-13 record (.908 winning percentage) with seven SEC titles and four national championships in the last 10 seasons. Alabama’s 125 wins in the 2010s were the most for any FBS school during a decade in the Associated Press Poll era. Since 2008, Saban’s teams have spent part or all of each season ranked No. 1 in national polls.

But sure, let’s question his legacy. This seems a bit too familiar, kind of like when the Worldwide Leader tried to prematurely put the kibosh in the New England Patriots dynasty.

Courtney Cronin claimed that if Alabama doesn’t make the CFP or get to a national championship this year, Saban’s days of winning championships are over. That’s a bold claim and we’ll certainly have to see. And I wouldn’t bet against one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.

As if the segment couldn’t get any more out of hand, host Shea Cornette asked if there would be the suspicion of a hot seat if Alabama loses more than two games in 2023.

“No,” Finebaum bluntly replied. “I mean let me say this for the record, Nick Saban is still the greatest coach of all time…But these are fair conversations about where he stands.”

That’s certainly a fair point and at least Finebaum got the discussion back on track to some degree, but any conversation revolving around his legacy at this juncture in time isn’t one worth having.

[ESPN]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.