Paul Finebaum knows all good things — and all great coaches — must eventually come to an end.

With that in mind, everyone knows it’s only a matter of time until Alabama head coach and college football icon Nick Saban decides to hang things up. And in a recent segment on “The Matt Barrie Show,” Finebaum revealed he believes Saban’s “on short time” for a number of reasons.

Finebaum pointed to Auburn’s push in recruiting and the recent flip of 5-star WR Perry Thompson away from an Alabama commitment. He then pointed to reports of Saban recently purchasing a substantial home on Jupiter Island in Florida.

While Finebaum admitted he doesn’t know when Saban might retire, he does believe such a sizable purchase indicates a coach lining up his eventual retirement home:

“Saban is on short time. I mean, cmon. It came out in a publication today, in Palm Beach. Matt, Nick Saban spent $17.5 million buying a home on Jupiter Island,” said Finebaum. “…I’m just asking my friends at Alabama: If your head coach just dropped 17.5 mil, is that a weekend home? I don’t think so, Matt. He’s already got a weekend home in Florida on the other coast, he’s got a lake house in Georgia. That, to me, sounds like a retirement home…

“And maybe 17.5 million is not a lot of money to Nick Saban but that really is pretty remarkable. I don’t know when he’s going to retire but Hugh Freeze will be at Auburn after Nick Saban’s at Alabama, I can mark that one down pretty easily.”

Nick Saban’s outlook

While some continue to point toward the eventual end of Saban’s career, Alabama remains poised to be among the best programs in the country. The Tide won the national championship in 2020 and appeared in the national championship game in 2021.

Even with the struggles a season ago, the Tide finished with an 11-2 overall record. And if Alabama rebounds once again, the chatter surrounding Saban and the eventual end of his coaching career could be history entering 2024.