Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy was on the call this past Saturday night for Bama’s 37-20 win over the Tennessee Vols in Tuscaloosa.

Numerous Vols fans were surprised McElroy was allowed to call the game after he said last week that he’s “not the biggest fan” of Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar.

“I’m not the biggest fan of Joey Aguilar,” said McElroy on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning a few days before Tennessee played Alabama. “But I’ve liked what I’ve seen. I think he’s done a good enough job. He’s not a real threat as a runner, which does make things a little bit easier.”

Those same fans likely weren’t thrilled with the job that McElroy did during the ESPN broadcast of the Bama/Vols game as he seemed to point out deficiencies with Tennessee’s offensive scheme — specifically in the red zone — as often as he could.

McElroy said on a couple of different occasions that Tennessee’s offense is limited in those situations.

“When Tennessee gets inside the five yard line, they are 90-plus percent run,” said McElroy in the second quarter of the ESPN broadcast. “Why? Because the passing attack where they stretch the field condenses.”

McElroy isn’t wrong about Tennessee being more likely to run the ball inside the five yard line, but suggesting that it’s because of the Vols’ wide splits is a stretch. The Vols have cut down significantly on how often they use wide splits (wide receivers outside the numbers) this season, which is actually something that Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops pointed out on Monday.

“Tennessee is a bit more conventional with their splits this year, they still get wide at times…they do a great job of mixing it up,” said Stoops.

If you’re a Tennessee fan who thinks McElroy was being passive aggressively dismissive of Tennessee’s offensive scheme, it’s understandable. It certainly felt that way at times during the broadcast on Saturday night (and if you think it was to create a narrative that hurts Tennessee in the transfer portal/recruiting…maybe you’re right).

By the way, the Vols have scored touchdowns on 69 percent of their red zone trips this season, compared to 62 percent last season and 52 percent in 2023.

Aguilar has thrown 10 touchdown passes against Power-4 teams this season. Six of those have come in the red zone, and two of those have come inside the five yard line (including a two-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley moments after McElroy got snarky about Tennessee’s offense inside the five yard line).

Greg McElroy on what he thinks about the Tennessee Vols for the rest of the season

After listening the joy in McElroy’s voice as Alabama beat Tennessee on Saturday night (to his credit, he tried to keep his Bama fandom in check, but you could tell it was tough for him), Vols fans probably expected the former Crimson Tide quarterback to light up a cigar in the broadcast booth.

Former Alabama quarterback Tyler Watts, in fact, was hoping McElroy would light up a cigar while he was live on ESPN after the game.

“We were all pulling for you (McElroy) when you did your hit on ESPN,” said Watts on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday. “Had you lowered your head, lit up a cigar, and walked off set, it would have been classic. It might have been your last ESPN game, but it would’ve been classic.”

“It would have been my last Bama/Tennessee game for sure,” responded McElroy. “I don’t think it would have been my last ESPN game, but my last Bama/Tennessee game. And it didn’t matter — Tennessee fans are going to think what they think. That’s beside the point. I actually like Tennessee’s football team. I really do. I just thought it was a tricky matchup for them, and I thought Bama played pretty well. Still a lot to like about both of those teams.”

McElroy went a step further in his praise of Tennessee during his recap of the weekend on the ESPN College Football YouTube channel.

“As for Tennessee, I think they’re going to be just fine,” said McElroy. “I still really like their quarterback. I think they remain a bit of a liability in the back end defensively. But that’s a really solid football team that can win a lot of games and still be very much in the College Football Playoff conversation.”

I’ll give McElroy credit, I think he tries to put the Bama bias aside, but it doesn’t seem to be easy for him.

As for his comments about Tennessee, well, I don’t blame Vols fans if they aren’t buying it. McElroy’s comment about “still liking” Aguilar rings hollow after what he said last week. And let’s not forget that propping Tennessee up is good for Alabama — the Crimson Tide want that win to look as good as possible when it comes time to unveil the final College Football Playoff rankings later this year.

McElroy’s rough night on ESPN during the Tennessee vs Alabama game is another reminder that ex-players shouldn’t be allowed to call games that involve their alma mater — it’s just too difficult (in most cases, not all) for those ex-players to be unbiased.

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