Paul Finebaum is not a big Pete Golding fan.

Not long after the speculation regarding Charlie Strong joining the Alabama coaching staff began, something that did in fact happen this offseason, Finebaum suggested it wouldn’t be long before the former USF, Texas and Louisville head coach would be calling the defensive plays down in Tuscaloosa.

During his most recent Monday morning appearance on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM show “The RoundTable,” Finebaum was asked to share his thoughts on Terrell Lewis’ recent comments regarding Alabama’s lack of communication on defense last season.

If you missed it, Lewis offered up comments at the 2020 NFL Combine which could certainly be read as damning when it comes to Alabama’s defensive coordinator, Pete Golding:

“I just feel like sometimes, especially the LSU game, a lot of times they caught us in a situation where there was a lack of communication and they ended up winning that play and scoring. As a defense, I feel like it was basically too many mental errors as a defense. Same for Auburn. I feel like we had a lot of plays when it didn’t go our way and they caught us when we were at our worst.”

“Communication from the top down, as far as even play-calling and as far as just on the field, guys relaying the calls and relaying the signals, stuff like that.”

Those comments appear to only reaffirm Finebaum’s opinion of Golding. When asked to respond to Lewis’ comments, the SEC Network host admitted it’s been a real struggle for Nick Saban to replace Jeremy Pruitt in Tuscaloosa.

“Pete Golding is the worst defensive coordinator Nick Saban has had at Alabama, that’s not really debatable,” Finebaum said during his latest WJOX appearance. “Kevin Steele, Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt and I don’t even consider Tosh Lupoi the defensive coordinator because he really never finished the season calling the plays. Make sure I’m heard correctly, Tosh Lupoi is the worst in name, but Pete’s the worst in terms of someone that came back the next year. And I really don’t understand it.

“I think Saban was so insistent on not making a change that he maybe went against his better judgment, he wants Pete Golding to be a great defensive coordinator and I’m not sure that’s going to be the ticket at Alabama. That’s probably one reason why he brought Charlie Strong on. The combination of Tosh Lupoi and Pete Golding as defensive coordinators at Alabama is really embarrassing, quite frankly, for a program like Alabama.”

Goodness, take about a strong take, but it’s fair to say Finebaum has a good point there.

One other interesting comment the SEC Network host made during his appearance regarding the offseason coaching movement in the SEC, Finebaum offered up his belief that Kirby Smart hired Scott Cochran more to hurt Saban’s Alabama program than to help the Georgia program.

“He didn’t hire Scott Cochran to improve Georgia’s special teams coverage, there are 1,000 guys out there that have a lot more experience,” Finebaum noted. “He took him because they are friends and I think he also felt it was a shot across the bow — and he needs any kind of those that he can find, it doesn’t matter what it is, to win the national championship. I think he looked at his lineup, he’s made a lot of  changes, and he felt like we need one more ingredient to make this work.”

Based on the struggles Saban has had replacing his defensive coordinators in recent seasons, it’s fair to question whether the Alabama coach will make the same mistakes trying to replace Cochran in the years to come.