ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum credited Nick Saban’s success at Alabama with saving his career as a broadcaster.

Finebaum, who covered Alabama for many years, recognized the difficulties with covering the Crimson Tide before Saban arrived in January 2007 (Via 247Sports). Prior to Saban’s time at Alabama, the program struggled to recreate the success from decades ago. The Crimson Tide failed to be a consistent winner.

In an interview with The Ringer’s The Press Box podcast, Finebaum gave Saban credit for allowing him to remain relevant as a college football analyst by covering Alabama:

“Saban, really in many ways, saved my career,” Finebaum said. “I never covered a consistent winner at Alabama, and suddenly, that’s all they did. So yeah, did I embrace Nick Saban? Sure. But why wouldn’t you? Are you going to try to battle this guy that keeps winning. Are you going to say after his first one, ‘He’s never going to win again?’”

Alabama had a losing record in 2006, which was the season before Saban came to Alabama. As Alabama became a powerhouse under Saban, Finebaum grew from a local radio host at WJOX to a trusted college football voice on ESPN.

Finebaum hosts a daily show on ESPN Radio, which is simulcasted on the SEC Network.