Paul Finebaum: If Tim Tebow chose Alabama, 'Nick Saban wouldn't be here'

When Tim Tebow was a highly rated quarterback recruit in 2005, he waited until the last minute to make his commitment. He was down to two schools, and he ultimately chose Florida to play for Urban Meyer in a story shared in the Netflix documentary Swamp Kings.

The other school Tebow considered was Alabama when Mike Shula was still the head coach. What resulted was one of the great what-ifs in college football history — and Paul Finebaum thinks the last 15 years would look much different had he played in Tuscaloosa instead of Gainesville.

Tebow shared the story about his recruitment on The Paul Finebaum Show Friday ahead of Alabama’s highly anticipated matchup with Texas. He said his relationship with Shula and the staff was a big reason why he was considering the Tide. But he ultimately chose Florida in a now-famous phone call with Meyer.

That call took place in December 2005. In 2006, Alabama went 6-6 before firing Shula and eventually hiring Nick Saban. If he had a quarterback of Tebow’s caliber, though, Finebaum theorized Shula might have been more successful — and Alabama wouldn’t have gone on a coaching search.

“You know what’s so interesting? And not to make you larger than life, although you are. Had you decided to come to the University of Alabama, Nick Saban wouldn’t be here because Mike Shula would have done much better than he did, Alabama at some point — Saban would have eventually gone somewhere else,” Finebaum told Tebow. “So Alabama fans, don’t begrudge Tim Tebow anything. Thank him for Nick Saban. This is the man that brought Nick Saban to Alabama.”

A product of Ponte Vedra Beach (FL) High School, Tebow was a consensus five-star recruit from the 2006 cycle. Meyer heavily prioritized him on the recruiting trail and, as he said in Swamp Kings, knew he needed to land him if he was going to be successful at Florida.

But Alabama didn’t make it an easy decision for Tebow.

“I really thought my entire high school career, if I would have been honest with you, I would have probably said that I was leaning towards or planning on coming to Alabama,” Tebow said. “And that was kind of a last-second decision to to go to Florida. But I think when you show up on this campus and you see the passion, the tradition. I was very close with Coach Shula, Dave Rader, all the coaches that were here. We had a great relationship for four years, and that was a very hard decision.

Now that he’s one of the best quarterbacks in college football history, he hears plenty of chirping from the Alabama faithful. It’s safe to say it worked out for both sides, though. Saban has won six national titles since taking over the Crimson Tide in 2007 while Tebow won two national titles and a Heisman Trophy at Florida.

But that hasn’t stopped Alabama fans from letting Tebow hear about his decision.

“Sometimes, I still get some negative comments from quite a few Alabama fans,” Tebow said. “You’ve got so much to be excited about and cheer for. You’ve had the best run in college football history. You’re doing just fine.”