Paul Finebaum drags Kalen DeBoer through the mud following Alabama’s disappointing season

Paul Finebaum's criticism of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has continued. Last week, Finebaum described DeBoer as being on a "scorching hot seat " due to his team's performances this season and the bowl game disaster against the Michigan Wolverines.

On Tuesday's edition of "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," Finebaum made his weekly appearance and continued slating the coach for the team's performance in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31.

“I don’t think Kalen DeBoer could have dialed up a more inopportune way to finish the season. Had Alabama won, there wouldn’t have been a lot of credit given for the win because of the opponent, but you can’t fight 10 wins. You can live off that. It takes you into the offseason. It gives you some momentum as you’re building your roster to the upcoming season.”

On paper, the Crimson Tide should have won this game. They had a 9-3 record coming into it and narrowly missed out on a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Michigan, on the other hand, came into the season as national champions, but due to many departures in the offseason, it never looked like they would even make a challenge for the playoffs all season long.

However, the game itself was anything but straightforward. Due to a rainstorm in the first quarter, the field and ball became slippery, something that the Crimson Tide could not cope with. This led to star quarterback Jalen Milroe making numerous mistakes, all of which the Wolverines were able to capitalize on. In the end, Michigan would hold on for a 19-13 win.

The defeat did not help DeBoer, who in his first season with the program struggled to live up to its high expectations. But, as Finebaum states, if they won the game, this would have given them a 10-win season. This is generally a sign that a program is doing well and should be a minimum expectation for Alabama.

However, the defeat condemned the Crimson Tide to a 9-4 season, their worst since 2007, which was coincidently the first year of Nick Saban's tenure.

Finebaum again mentions the hot seat

Finebaum also doubled down on his hot-seat comments when talking about the future of DeBoer.

"A loss, especially one that looked so inept, I believe is going to haunt Kalen DeBoer. And I understand that he isn’t going to get fired, and I think it’s absurd to even have that kind of conversation. But to say he’s on some sort of a hot seat I think is accurate".

Kalen DeBoer is probably not going to leave Alabama and should be there for many years to come. No program, no matter how big, is going to fire a first-year coach after a nine-win season.

However, at Alabama, the expectations are seriously high. If DeBoer can not lead his team to the College Football Playoff next season as a minimum requirement, then his job may be in jeopardy.