Paul Finebaum says program brand is more important than head coaches in new era of CFB
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Paul Finebaum has seen a lot of college football in his time. That includes the transition of notable head coaches leaving the sport.
Most recently, the changing of the guard includes Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh leaving the college ranks for various reasons. Saban, wrapping up his Hall of Fame career, is retiring while Harbaugh used a national title at Michigan (and off-field drama) to bolt to the NFL for a job with the Los Angeles Chargers.
In his Monday appearance for “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum was asked if the recent changes in the sport put a greater emphasis on needing the top coach in the country or simply flexing NIL money and a program status. Overall, Finebaum believes the stature of individual programs still carries a greater weight, though he did admit Saban as the GOAT was an outlier.
“I think there’s a sense of irony that the 2 biggest names in the game walked away, Saban and Harbaugh,” said Finebaum. “But I don’t think it really affects the game very much because you look around the landscape of college football — who has the biggest brands?
“It’s Alabama, it’s Georgia, it’s Ohio State, and I don’t think at this point the coach is as important as the brand. Nick Saban was a standalone coach, there’s never been another one like that, and I think the question that starts to get asked is who out there is in that position? And really the answer is nobody.”
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As a part of his response, Finebaum explained of the current top coaches in the game — Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, Brian Kelly and Kalen DeBoer — have the kind of recognizable popularity that Saban possessed.
Overall, Finebaum has a solid point here. And it’s important to remember what Finebaum isn’t saying.
No one is arguing the importance of coaches like Smart, a two-time title winner, to their program. Or a Day or Kelly, some of the elite recruiters of their era.
What is true is that if those coaches left their program to go elsewhere, the program would get a chance to hire the best of the best to fill their shoes. That means the future of the elite brands remains secure, regardless of who comes and goes as the coach.
We’ll see if the 12-team Playoff has an impact on that outlook, but it seems like a safe one for the time being.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
