Paul Finebaum addresses Nick Saban referring to 2021 as a rebuilding year

College football fans of programs in the Yellowhammer State were taken aback when Alabama coach Nick Saban declared the 2021 season as a “rebuilding year” for the Crimson Tide. For most schools, a conference title (an SEC title), College Football Playoff appearance and national runner-up finish would be the greatest season in their history. For Alabama, it’s an outright failure, apparently. Notable SEC analyst Paul Finebaum recently hopped on with ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ to explain the phenomenon of a national runner-up technically having a “down” year.

Here were Finebaum’s comments on the matter, explaining the duality of Saban in the process:

Paul Finebaum on Alabama “rebuild”

“Well, I think you just have to decide whether to take him literally, or to take a deep breath. And yeah, I think it’s well-documented that, from a strict standpoint, it was a rebuilding year based on the massive numbers of NFL players that he had departing to the first round, including the most obvious.”

Sure, ‘Bama lost a load, especially on offense. But c’mon, their quarterback won the Heisman for goodness sakes. Can you really call it a rebuild when that’s the case? Finebaum explains:

“However, I think when you take a deep breath — from a distance, it does come off as disingenuous. So I think it’s a great debate. And I don’t think there’s really an obvious winner or loser.

“I know what Coach Saban said in the aftermath. And, you know, there is no arguing with the stats. But when you’ve played in nine national championship games Alabama — when you’ve won six — it just gives people around the country a chance to point at some of his other comments over the years. The comment about when he lost a game that the NFL Draft got in the way. Or the one after the 28-point loss to Clemson, that the coaching staff was in disarray.

“These are issues that every coach in America deals with. But when Nick Saban talks, he is heard in a more firm fashion. And it sounds louder because he’s the greatest coach of all time. And nobody’s words are examined more closely than his.”

So Saban may be a little out of pocket — or out of touch with non-first-world football programs — by suggesting 2021 was a rebuild. But looking at his collection of hardware, it’s hard to consider anything less than a title success at this point.