Paul Finebaum assesses the blame at Alabama after LSU loss

As Alabama now sits at 7-2, the finger-pointing has started in Tuscaloosa. Everyone wants to know, even with all their talent, why the Crimson Tide have fallen short of expectations in 2022. In Paul Finebaum’s opinion, he sees it as a failure from the top down.

Finebaum shared who he thought deserved the blame at Alabama during an appearance on ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’. While it’s not 100% on him, he does believe it starts with Nick Saban rather than just the coordinators as some others might suggest.

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“Well, I think it starts at the top (with) Nick Saban as the head coach,” said Finebaum. “I always cringe when people want to blame the coordinators for everything as if Nick Saban doesn’t hire the coordinators and Nick Saban doesn’t approve the game plans. Saban doesn’t just stand there with the headset on. That’s being broad. That’s why Nick Saban gets credit when Alabama wins championships. (Then) you don’t say, ‘Wow, that was a great job by Pete Golding.'”

Golding and Bill O’Brien have taken their fair share of lumps for some of the Tide’s inconsistencies this year. However, they’re not the ones calling the shots within the program. If they are to take some blame, Finebaum is correct in that Saban is connected to that as well.

That has trickled down to a level of accountability on the Alabama players as well. In the end, it’s on them to execute regardless of the game plan and they haven’t at the level we’ve become accustomed to from the Tide’s roster. In Finebaum’s eyes, there have been issues with the team’s performance since the start and that means part of the responsibility deservedly falls on the players as well.

“As far as the players I don’t know where the disconnect is. But, ultimately, they shoulder some of the blame,” Finebaum said. “I can’t explain it. But I think it’s self-evident that there are issues that have been issues all year long. Every game there seems to be a different one, but some of them are pretty easy to see.”

The sky isn’t falling in Tuscaloosa. Still, there will be those who have to be fall guys when people ask what has gone wrong for Alabama to this point. With that said, Finebaum believes this is on the program as a whole more than any one person. The best thing for them now is to accept a certain level of it and move on so that they can refocus for their game at Ole Miss this coming Saturday.