Paul Finebaum contemplates whether CFP loss to Michigan was Nick Saban's swan song

Monday marked Alabama‘s eighth appearance in the College Football Playoff under head coach Nick Saban, which is more than any other program in the CFP’s 10-year history. But unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, they will not advance to the national championship this time around, falling to top-ranked Michigan 27-20 in an overtime loss at the Rose Bowl.

Saban’s 17th season with Alabama and 28th overall season as a college head coach came to an end on Monday night, with some questioning if could potentially be his last year at the helm. Which is exactly what ESPN host Mike Greenberg asked college football analyst Paul Finebaum on ‘Get Up’ Wednesday morning.

“It’s possible Greeny, think about this, this past season is the first time since 2008 that Alabama has gone through the entire season where at no point were they ranked number one.” Finebaum said. “I mean think about that, that’s just almost impossible to consider but that’s where we are. We’re starting to use point of references like that.”

Saban has epitomized head coaching greatness since his arrival in Tuscaloosa in 2007, bringing the Alabama program six national championships and eight SEC titles.

He was able to lead the Crimson Tide to an SEC Championship win over Georgia this season, but hoisting a national championship to end the year is not in the cards for Saban after making that the standard at Alabama in recent history.

“It’s now been three years since Nick Saban won a national championship, why is that relevant? Because that’s the longest stretch he has gone in his career. He won in the COVID year, but other than that, he hasn’t won a title since 2017,” Finebaum explained.

Saban’s resume and importance to the Alabama program is undeniable, with many regarding his body of work and impact on the sport as enough to deem him the greatest coach in college football history. But the extremely high standards he’s set have not been met lately, and that paired with some of college football’s changes makes Finebaum believe that this could be the end of the road for the 72-year old head coach.

“This is a career for Jim Harbaugh and any other coach, but for Nick Saban it feels like he’s very close to the end and I know a lot of people in Tuscaloosa are worried right now. Saban’s back in town after the trip from California, what is he thinking about?” Finebaum asked.

“Yes he just had a great recruiting year, but he can’t stand the portal, he can’t stand NIL, and you just have to wonder whether that was his swan song the other night. It very well could’ve been.”