Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich take pulse of Kalen DeBoer, Michigan rumors after statements on future at Alabama

Despite having publicly said twice now that he will be back at Alabama, Kalen DeBoer remains considered by some as a potential candidate for the open job at Michigan. Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich are or are somewhat among those, as neither is for certain that there’s no chance he’ll be the next head coach of the Wolverines.

After DeBoer’s statement on Sunday and comments on Monday, Finebaum and Dinich reacted to his still possible candidacy at Michigan while on ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday morning. Dinich began, saying that they’d been in this business too long to assume that, just based on those comments, he still wouldn’t leave Tuscaloosa, or that he still wouldn’t get a call regardless from those up in Ann Arbor.

“I will put an end to the speculation when the coaching search ends,” said Dinich. “Look, do you remember Lincoln Riley standing up at the podium and saying I will not be the head coach at LSU, and then, 24 hours later, he was the head coach at USC? I realize this is a different situation. But, if Alabama loses to Oklahoma and has an early exit, if I’m Warde Manuel, the athletic director at Michigan, I am going for Kalen DeBoer because he would be the best option.

“But, we’ve all been in this long enough. It ain’t over ’til it’s over, guys.”

Finebaum then felt it was a little more likely that DeBoer will be back with what he’s hearing out of ‘Bama. Still, based on his behavior to an extent, and pending what happens in their playoff game, and the reaction to it, later this week, he also didn’t completely rule out the thought that he could still be an option at Michigan.

“It feels like it’s over, and people at Alabama are pushing back saying they are in the midst of working on a contract,” Finebaum said. “Something tells me they may wait until after Friday night to put it in front of DeBoer, but they were arguing very vehemently yesterday that it is not going to happen.

“Now, DeBoer actually made a mess out of it. He issued a statement on Sunday that cleared it up, and we only played a part of what he said (on Monday). I mean, he went on. It was one of the longest word salads in college coaching history. And, it’s just so simple to say, are you going to be the coach next year, yes. But, for some reason, he couldn’t do it. I think some of it is that he likes it there, his family is comfortable there but he also knows, out in the hinterlands, the fans are not crazy about him, especially with another loss on Friday night.”

At least until the weekend comes, there doesn’t seem to be much, based on his own comments, to this story. But, if the Crimson Tide are the first team already out of the College Football Playoff by Friday night, this could ramp back up again when it comes to Michigan maybe considering Kalen DeBoer, or vice versa with the head coach at Alabama.

Finebaum on what’s at stake for DeBoer: ‘(He) needs to win this game’

There could be a lot at stake for Kalen DeBoer in the first round of the College Football Playoff, where No. 9 Alabama will go to play against No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman. So, the way ESPN’s Paul Finebaum sees it, DeBoer could avoid a lot of offseason issues if the Crimson Tide can at least win this game, and advance to the quarterfinals with a matchup in the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Indiana.

“More unpopularity,” Finebaum said. “And, you know, people would say, ‘Well, how could he be unpopular? He’s in the playoffs?’. But, we all remember he was one of the last schools in the playoffs. A loss Friday night would mean four losses on the season. That would be two consecutive four-loss seasons. We’ve talked about Alabama long enough on this program. That’s a disastrous season. A disastrous season under (Nick) Saban was losing in the final game of the year in the title game. So, DeBoer needs to win this game, get to the Rose Bowl, and take on Indiana. If he doesn’t, it just gets more complicated after that.”

“This is a prove-it game,” Heather Dinich said in agreement. “Paul is absolutely right because there are a lot of people out there, including some people in the selection committee meeting room, who didn’t think Alabama should be in as a three-loss team because of the way they played in the SEC Championship. This is a team that regressed on the field over the last couple of weeks – minus-three yards rushing against Georgia. So, they’ve got to come out and they’ve got to play really well in addition to winning this game.”