Football
Finebaum believes Tide brand will remain strong under DeBoer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — During his weekly appearance on the McElroy and Cubelic Show on WJOX in Birmingham, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum compared Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer’s work on the recruiting trail to Nick Saban’s heyday at Alabama.
Over the past week, Alabama added two 5-star commitments from linebacker Xavier Griffin from Georgia and wide receiver Cederian Morgan from Alexander City.
The Crimson Tide added 4-star running back Ezavier Crowell into the mix as well, which gives them the No. 6 ranked recruiting class nationally by 247sports.
First-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb flipped 4-star quarterback Jett Thomalla from Iowa State. His staff added 4-star athlete Mack Sutter and offensive lineman Sam Utu which were both significant recruiting victories.
The Crimson Tide machine has not stopped working at a high level following the retirement of Nick Saban which is a great sign for the brand, according to Finebaum.
“This is one of the great recruiting runs we’ve seen in some years,” Finebaum said earlier this week. “It almost feels like Nick Saban is running the ship again when it comes to recruiting, because this is vintage Alabama recruiting.”
Despite an underwhelming 9-4 season that included three uncharacteristic losses to unranked teams Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Michigan.
There were great highlights to being the season with a victory over top-ranked Georgia in a classic gridiron thriller and a thrashing of LSU.
“Kalen DeBoer, with the addition of Ryan Grubb and finally getting the staff a little bit more to his liking, has brought continuity,” Finebaum said. “That’s evidenced by him retaining his players in the spring, which I think is a very big deal for that purpose, and I think it’s oozing over to recruiting.”
The numbers back up Finebaum’s assertion as Alabama closed June with a flurry of commitments for the 2026 class and started July off right with Morgan’s decision to stay in-state as the No. 1 player in-state.
For DeBoer, who arrived from Washington after Saban’s surprise departure, the challenge was never just about tactics or playbooks. It was about culture, protecting and evolving what Saban built without losing what made Alabama, in Finebaum’s words, “the brand that has been around college football since the Rose Bowl of the 1920s.”
DeBoer hasn’t shied away from the comparison. “He tweaked things, he altered things, but he never let go of the core,” Finebaum said. “He leaned on Nick Saban when he needed to. Saban still walks around and can be seen, not that that is helping you get a five-star recruit.”
Yet, the landscape has changed. Name, image and likeness deals, along with the recent House v. NCAA settlement, have upended college football economics.
Schools like Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, flush with oil money and ambitious boosters, have threatened to outbid the competition.
Alabama has shown the ability to keep up with their pace, but for how long?
“The only thing that has not been proven yet is whether Alabama can sustain the financial ability like the Texas’ and the A&M’s and some of these other schools,” Finebaum said. “I think it’s one thing to get a player; it’s another thing to keep him.”
Behind the headlines and rankings, the true measure of Alabama’s new era might be its ability to adapt.
DeBoer’s approach, leaning on tradition while embracing change, has allowed the Crimson Tide to retain its swagger without tipping into arrogance.
“Even during other coaching terms, Alabama never got hung up on the record,” Finebaum said. “They knew they were Alabama, and it upset a lot of people. It came off as arrogant and cocky, but it has always been able to be backed up over the course of history.”
Nick Saban’s shadow still looms large, but his endorsement of DeBoer has helped calm the waters.
“I do think that this is a tough transition for Kalen, any time you take over a successful program,” Saban said last fall. “I don’t want to be judgmental about what they do because I think he has to do what he does his way. He can’t be me. He can’t try to be somebody that he isn’t.”
For Finebaum, the message to the rest of college football is clear.
“To the rest of college football, this is a very annoying and irritating signal. Because Nick Saban may be gone, but Alabama is still one of the great standards of all-time in college football,” Finebaum said. “And I think a lot of people forgot that, especially younger people who only knew the Nick Saban era.”
In the corridors of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the statues of past champions cast long shadows. Yet, as recruits file through and DeBoer’s staff hosts another round of blue-chip prospects, the feeling is more anticipation than nostalgia.
“Alabama has always been there, and the signs right now is it looks like they’re always going to be,” Finebaum said.
The message, delivered with measured confidence, is unmistakable as the Alabama standard endures.
For the rest of college football, it is completely impossible to ignore that the Crimson Tide will remain at the top.
