Paul Finebaum made a strong statement about Nick Saban and he's absolutely right
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum got real while discussing Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban this week. Finebaum recently joined On3's Andy Staples ahead of the start of the new college football season and he had some appropriate criticisms of Saban to share. The longtime college football talk show host told Staples that he takes […]
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum got real while discussing Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban this week.
Finebaum recently joined On3's Andy Staples ahead of the start of the new college football season and he had some appropriate criticisms of Saban to share.
The longtime college football talk show host told Staples that he takes issue with how Saban talks down to reporters.
"Instead of people saying, ‘I don’t really like that', people usually say, ‘Oh, he’s an evil genius. He knows what he’s doing'. The reporter in me, who has sat in that room like you have many times, that bothers me," explained Finebaum. "Because, in my estimation, he’s talking down to the media."
“When you’re Nick Saban, you don’t have to bully a bunch of sports writers who are bright eyed and bushy tailed," continued Finebaum. "I remember I was in that room 40 years ago, or a little bit more, covering Bear Bryant, I was scared to death. And one thing about Bryant, he never berated the media. He never talked down to them and Saban does.”
Finebaum made the comments because Saban lectured the media earlier this week about depth charts and why Alabama didn't release a depth chart.
“I know your number one focus is not on the game, it’s on the depth chart,” said Saban. “Look, there’s a lot of competition on the team, and when we put a depth chart out, you all think that’s, like, final. Like it’s etched in stone and it’s going to be this way forevermore just because we come out of fall camp and that’s where it is."
That was one of the more mild lectures from Saban to the media, but it's still an incredibly immature approach to dealing with reporters.
It's not up to Saban to decide what a reporter covers, how they cover it, or why they cover it.
And the fact that Saban has a confrontational approach with reporters — he acts like the media room is his kingdom (it's not) — shouldn't be ignored just because he's the greatest college football head coach of all time.
I understand there are going to be uncomfortable exchanges with the media at times. And I know there are things that are going to cause Saban, or any other college football coach, to be heated. But approaching every press conference like he's talking to a room full of toddlers isn't the way.
Saban should learn how to talk to other adults with respect. It's what he demands from his players, yet he struts around with an entitled demeanor while acting like everyone should be accommodating whatever he happens to be thinking, feeling, or saying. In any other arena, Saban would be viewed as unhinged.
It's time for Saban to stop getting a pass when it comes to treating people like garbage. Practice what you preach, Nick.
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Featured image via Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK
