Paul Finebaum on Kalen DeBoer's job status: 'They really can't afford to get rid of him'

Alabama‘s 2025 season opened about as bad as it could have, as the Crimson Tide were run off the field by unranked Florida State in Tallahassee 31-17. This loss raised many questions about the future of head coach Kalen DeBoer, and those questions didn’t go anywhere even after Alabama‘s 73-0 shutout win against Louisiana-Monroe.

Through 15 games as the head coach in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer is 10-5 with four losses in games where the Crimson Tide were favored by at least two touchdowns. His job security however seems very tight, as he boasts one of the largest contract buy-outs in the entire sport.

Due to this buy-out, ESPN‘s Paul Finebaum said that Alabama can’t really afford to get rid of DeBoer on Wednesday’s edition of ‘The Rich Eisen Show‘.

“He’s got a little more security for this reason,” Finebaum said. “(Billy) Napier‘s buyout is only $20 million. DeBoer’s is $68 million. Only one time has college football ever gone this high… they went $76 (million) three years ago with Jimbo Fisher. That was Texas A&M. That’s a good day in the oil fields. Alabama doesn’t have any oil fields proper. So they really can’t afford to get rid of him, but sometimes coaches can make it easier to get rid of you if they keep losing. DeBoer is really living week to week right now.”

The clock has not yet hit midnight on DeBoer’s tenure, as the program can certainly be turned around quickly with potential wins over No. 6 Georgia, No. 25 Missouri and No. 15 Tennessee in the next month. Earlier this week, Finebaum went more in depth on how the 73-0 win didn’t do much to take the heat off DeBoer’s back.

Finebaum claims week two victory did nothing to take heat off DeBoer

“If Alabama had gone out there and struggled and won 24-10, it would just be a continuation of an extreme week of negativity,” Finebaum said on Sunday’s edition of ‘The Matt Barrie Show‘. “What you do have to wonder is why it took the second week of the season for Kalen DeBoer to connect with his players. He clearly failed to do it in the first week.”

“But sometimes, Matt, you play golf and you play one of the five toughest courses in America, and you can’t do anything, and you go out to a Muni that’s made for fun, and all of a sudden you feel great about your golf game again. That’s essentially what happened here.” 

“Alabama opened at Seminole, a good club down in Florida, and then they played at the Monroe Muni yesterday. You know where the course (is) one of the top 25,000 courses in Louisiana. So it was made for them. I’m glad to see Alabama fans celebrating a 70 whatever victory over Monroe. It doesn’t change the concerns, though, that will come back again in about three weeks when Alabama goes to Georgia.”

The Crimson Tide will host Wisconsin at home on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM on ABC.