Paul Finebaum criticizes Tommy Rees, Alabama staff for completely misfiring
Saturday was a nightmare for Alabama fans as the Crimson Tide pulled out a 17-3 versus USF after entering the game as 34-point favorites versus the Bulls.
It was an especially disappointing performance for Alabama’s offense, which was stagnant all day in harsh conditions as they scored the least amount of points since a 2014 matchup with Arkansas. And on Sunday, college football analyst Paul Finebaum gave his harsh take on the state of the Crimson Tide offense.
“I think right now you have to say that the Tommy Rees hire has been a complete and total failure,” Finebaum said. “I mean what Tommy Rees is doing is coaching malpractice, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
This was just Rees’ third game as Alabama’s offensive coordinator after joining the program this offseason from Notre Dame. He hasn’t had the strongest start so far during his tenure in Tuscaloosa, with the Crimson Tide ranking only in front of Mississippi State for the least amount of yards per game in the SEC. And Finebaum believes their offensive line and mismanagement of the quarterback position has had a lot to do with their shortcomings.
“And realize Nick Saban is there and I’m not trying to deflect the blame from him, but Rees is the offensive coordinator and he is in charge of that offense,” Finebaum said. “And there’s not much he can do with the offensive line other than find a quarterback that can mask the problems and he had that quarterback. As much as we can criticize Jalen Milroe, and say well Jalen Milroe may not be able to get Alabama to a national championship, I don’t think that’s the issue any longer. I think it’s salvaging this season.”
Milroe started the first two games of the season for Alabama, but Saban decided to give Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner the start on Saturday.
Buchner had a disappointing game completing just 35.7% of his passes for 34 yards, and instead of calling Milroe’s number, the Crimson Tide turned to Ty Simpson to come in for relief.
He performed a little bit better than Buchner, completing 55.6% of his passes for 73 yards and leading the Crimson Tide to a narrow victory. But it’s definitely clear that the quarterback position in Tuscaloosa must be figured out before their first conference game of the season this weekend against Ole Miss.
“And without injury, the idea that we have seen three quarterbacks in a very quick two week period is unprecedented and it’s quite frankly embarrassing. Because that means the coaching staff completely has misfired and there is no easy solution when you make as many mistakes as they have. But they better find something pretty quickly because they go up against a dynamic offense and a pretty good defense this week,” Finebaum condluded.