Paul Finebaum previews SEC Media Days, predicts biggest storylines from Atlanta

SEC Media Days are a week out from beginning from Centennial Park down in Atlanta, Georgia. So, with seven days until the four-day event begins, what is Paul Finebaum most interested in?

Finebaum shared his top stories going into SEC Media Days while on ‘McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning’ on Monday. He thinks it starts from the very opening of the week when LSU’s Brian Kelly takes the podium on that Monday morning.

“Well, I think Brian Kelly is going to certainly be center stage,” said Finebaum. “He’s certainly one of the best known SEC coaches. He may be the best known in many ways. And, what he does, other than Kirby Smart? What he does, how he handles the podium next week. I think he’ll handle it very well because he’s a smart coach. But the questions are going to be, once you get over there, is it CFP or bust?”

Kelly is a natural one with what this season could be for the Tigers. LSU, being 29-11 through three seasons under him but with no playoff appearances, has pressure on them to be at that level considering it’s year four for Kelly in Baton Rouge and because of the roster, infused by the second-best portal class in the country, that projects be one of the best in the sport.

From there, though, Finebaum is expecting the usual, contentious topics that networks will want to debate, including Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and the hot seat felt under Oklahoma’s Brent Venables with both set to be on stage on Wednesday. Also, additionally, if he wasn’t a story already, Finebaum thinks Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, who’s set to be up first on Tuesday, now finds himself as one due to the recent storylines around him on The Plains.

“The same questions, you know, you hear on the ESPN shows, about DeBoer,” said Finebaum. “I think Brent Venables needs a good week because he is definitely in harms way.”

“And, by the way, I think Hugh Freeze would have been a secondary story until all this. Now I think he’s a primary story,” Finebaum pointed out.

Next week in Atlanta will provide plenty of discussion with several teams around the league looking to contend in the conference and nationally, with it being a two-year skid since the Southeastern Conference played for, let alone won, it all in the College Football Playoff. That said, Finebaum is, beyond those three coaches, expecting the usual once everyone arrives next week for SEC Media Days.

“I think there’s just a – a lot of the predictable stories,” admitted Finebaum. “But I think those are three (in Kelly, DeBoer, and Venables) that will be mentioned early.”