Paul Finebaum reacts to Alabama hiring Kalen DeBoer, chirpy comments from rival coaches

Paul Finebaum believes Alabama got the right guy. During an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” the SEC Network analyst weighed in on Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne’s decision to hire Kalen DeBoer as the program’s next head coach.

“He got an excellent football coach,” Finebaum said. “That’s pretty easy to to utter based on impeccable credentials. I don’t know if any coach has ever come into a place like this with better credentials just a couple of days off the national championship game.”

DeBoer’s résumé is nearly flawless. In just two seasons at Washington, DeBoer turned the program around. He led the Huskies from a 4-8 record program in 2021 to an 11-2 mark, Alamo Bowl win over Texas and a No. 6 final CFP ranking in 2022.

DeBoer’s 2023 campaign was even better. In a loaded Pac-12, it was DeBoer’s group who stood head and shoulders above the rest, finishing a perfect 12-0 in the regular season before completing a season sweep of a Top-10 ranked Oregon team in the Pac-12 Championship game.

Washington didn’t stop there. DeBoer’s team toppled Texas to advance to the national championship against Michigan. While the Huskies ultimately fell to the Wolverines, Kalen DeBoer earned the nation’s respect. Now, he’s building an environment in Alabama to reach even greater heights.

Kalen DeBoer exceeds against the odds

“We’re slowly watching him put his staff together. It looks like the majority of what we saw in Seattle,” Finebaum said. “The question now is how does he adapt to this part of the country, which is difficult.

“He certainly has the experience, but there are always unknowns and that could go for any coaching hire, with a possible exception in 2007: Nick Saban. We knew what Alabama was getting then.”

DeBoer hasn’t hesitated to exceed in foreign environments in the past. DeBoer has enjoyed success at every stop of his career, ranging from Washington High School, Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan and Fresno State. Finebaum believes his time at Alabama will be no exception.

“How does he adapt to recruiting in the SEC? I’ve heard the chirpy comments from other coaches and people that he’ll be competing against, but that’s understandable. We think this is the most difficult place in the world to adapt to, but a lot of coaches have done that. Really, very few have had trouble at it.

“Les Miles won a national championship. You can’t you can’t find somebody who’s more foreign to South Alabama and Louisiana. I think the issue is adapting to the absolute cutthroat, brutal serial-killer mentality of the SEC.”