Paul Finebaum claims Alabama season will be 'a disaster' if Tide don't reach playoffs

Heading into the 2025 season, the question about where the Alabama expectations truly lie is a good one. Coach Kalen DeBoer is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure, but what will relieving some of that pressure look like?

Moreover, how much build-up is there in the system already? ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum believes Alabama faces the most pressure of any team in the top 10 right now.

“They absolutely do because we’re so used to them being at the top under Nick Saban,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday morning. “And Kalen DeBoer last year, he had an OK first season. OK for maybe Washington, where he used to be. But three different times, he was a double-digit favorite on the road or at a neutral-site game and lost. And that is unacceptable.”

The talk around the Alabama program this fall has been about DeBoer having an additional year now to get his system in place. Players should be more comfortable.

Moreover, the personnel is also supposed to fit better theoretically. Starting quarterback Ty Simpson fits the mold of what DeBoer looks for in a gunslinger, so could the Crimson Tide be poised to take a big jump?

They better be, Finebaum said. Because there are those with questions about DeBoer in Alabama territory.

“Stephen A. Smith, you may have heard of him, he called him soft the other day,” Finebaum said. “And a lot of people in Alabama are not exactly fighting back on that accusation. So he has to win this year. He has to get to the playoff.”

The well-known ESPN analyst made no bones about it. It’s put up or shut up time for DeBoer at Alabama. It’s only Year 2, but he has to start producing now.

“We always looked at Saban as someone that had to get to the national championship game or the season was going to be a disaster,” Finebaum said. “But if Kalen DeBoer does not take this team to the playoff, the season will be a disaster.”