Football
Finebaum shares reason why Alabama will make College Football Playoffs in 2025
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After winning the fewest games since Nick Saban’s first season in 2007, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer still has a talented roster with a brand in need of making the College Football Playoffs.
While room for error is more forgiving than ever before, the Crimson Tide finished just 9-4 with three humbling losses to unranked teams such as Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Michigan.
The Crimson Tide’s streak of missing the playoffs will end at one, according to SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum. He shared on his show that the missing piece to last season was someone DeBoer knows very well.
“If Alabama goes to the playoffs this year, and I think they will, the reason why they didn’t go last year was Grubb’s decision to take the NFL job, instead of staying in Tuscaloosa. I think he’s that important.”
It was a blunt assessment, and certainly one that’s become a rallying cry for Alabama fans desperate to see their team reclaim its place among the sport’s elite after a rare stumble last season.
The 2024 season proved a harsh initiation for Kalen DeBoer, who succeeded Nick Saban after the iconic coach’s retirement.
DeBoer, celebrated for guiding Washington to a national championship game just two years ago, was handed the keys to Alabama’s dynasty and promptly drove through a gauntlet.
For a fanbase accustomed to winning, it was a culture shock to see the Crimson Tide miss the mark under new leadership.
The root of Alabama’s offensive woes, Finebaum and others contend, wasn’t just the transition from Saban’s system. It was also the absence of Grubb, DeBoer’s trusted assistant, going back to their days at NAIA Souix Falls.
Grubb initially agreed to join DeBoer in Tuscaloosa but reversed course, opting to stay close to home and take the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job.
The ripple effect was immediate as Nick Sheridan, a respected but less proven play-caller, stepped in which led to Alabama’s offense sputtering and unable to find the rhythm or explosiveness that defined the DeBoer-Grubb partnership, which led the nation in passing yards in 2023.
Finebaum’s faith in Alabama’s 2025 resurgence isn’t unfounded, although quarterback room is full of promise and uncertainty.
Ty Simpson, a former five-star recruit, is the presumed starter but has only thrown 50 passes for 381 yards in his career.
Behind him are Austin Mack, a freshman who followed DeBoer from Washington, and Keelon Russell, a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 1 player in the country.
Russell’s high school accolades—over 3,600 passing yards, 52 touchdowns, and just two interceptions as a senior—have fans buzzing about his future, yet could redshirt depending on how things turn out during the season.
DeBoer’s challenge in Year Two is not just to develop a new starting quarterback but to integrate Grubb’s high octane system with a young, untested roster.
The 2025 schedule offers no soft landing as Alabama opens the season at Florida State on the road at Doak Campbell Stadium featuring a new offense.
Critics point to DeBoer’s bumpy introduction in Tuscaloosa as evidence of the difficulty in replacing a legend.
Fans were spoiled by Saban’s reign of double-digit win seasons and six national championships and didn’t responded well to first year growing pains.
DeBoer’s track record speaks for itself as he boasts 113 wins in ten seasons as a head coach, including three NAIA championships and a 25-3 mark at Washington. That alone suggests he’s equipped to weather the storm and right the ship at Alabama.
There’s also a sense that the 2024 campaign, for all its disappointment, could serve as the crucible for something new.
“Every dynasty adapts or it dies,” SEC Network’s Greg McElroy said recently. “Saban’s shadow will always loom over this program, but DeBoer isn’t trying to be the next Saban. He’s trying to win his way.”
That means embracing the quarterback competition, letting Grubb install a more aggressive passing attack and trusting that Alabama’s pipeline of talent can overcome inexperience.
Of course, the SEC gauntlet remains unforgiving as the Crimson Tide are set to face Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, LSU and Oklahoma.
Despite the tough slate, ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Alabama a 66.2% chance to make the Playoff, which ranks No. 3 in the nation going into the 2025 season. That’s a testament to the program’s enduring respect but also a reminder that the margin for error is slim.
The question is whether DeBoer and Grubb can turn conversation into results and whether the 2024 growing pains will become the foundation for a new era of success.
The storylines will evolve as the season unfolds, but the central drama is set. Can DeBoer and Grubb revive the Crimson Tide’s offense, mold a new quarterback into a star, and restore Alabama’s place in the College Football Playoff? Finebaum thinks so. The rest of the country, as always, will be watching to see if Alabama is still Alabama.
