Paul Finebaum reveals what he looks for in SEC Media Day interviews

The SEC Media Days are rapidly approaching. Ahead of that, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum dove into his thoughts on Media Days, particularly as it relates to what you can actually learn from the event.

Finebaum appeared on McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning. There, he explained that watching on television is great, but by attending, you get the opportunity to see coaches when they’re less prepared and often feeling pressure. That’s where insight into their mindset and where their teams are can often be found.

“I think the most important thing about media days,” Paul Finebaum said. “And yes, are we fortunate to have a backstage seat? We are. I think most people sit around and watch it on TV and thank goodness they do. This is a unique thing the SEC Network has brought, but what we often see is different.”

Former Florida head coach Jim McElwain became a good example for Finebaum. He attended SEC Media Days while on the hot seat, and it showed when he met with the media.

“What was it a couple of years ago guys when Jim McElwain, by the time he showed up on our set, he was coming apart. I don’t even know what was going on with him,” Finebaum said. “But we had one of the most out-of-body conversations I’ve ever seen. When he walked away, I felt pretty comfortably that I was not going to see him back at next year’s media days. Sometimes it’s the body language.”

There are, as always, several coaches coming into 2025 on the hot seat. So, while he’s at SEC Media Days, Paul Finebaum is going to be focused on their body language and how they handle the media when they’re not directly dealing with situations that they could prepare for, like their speech.

“So, this year, you watch that. How is Hugh Freeze approaching it? Not what he says on the big stage, but maybe what you guys see from him when he drops by. Maybe what he’s like before he comes on the air,” Finebaum said. “Because he’s always very transparent off the air. What does Mark Stoops look like? Is he moping around? Does he have some canned speech? Does he make any sense, even though his buyout is mammoth and his record is bad? Things like that. Certain coaches, I don’t think you’re going to be able to tell a lot.”

In many cases, this won’t be the first time coaches make public appearances throughout the offseason. So, with some coaches, you already know what to expect. However, for those who have been relatively silent throughout the offseason, they’re going to provide that potential insight.

“Just being down to the spring meetings. Got a pretty good bullseye on what they look like. You guys saw many of these same coaches at Regions a couple weeks ago. So, we’ve been privy. The coaches we saw I don’t think will change. It’s the ones we haven’t seen a lot of or heard a lot of — and maybe if they’re just on a script. With Nick Saban, you always were anticipatory because you didn’t know where he was going to go. His last season,” Finebaum said. “I was sitting there next to Greg, we were all looking around like, ‘Did he just decide to skip media day?’ He was very lowkey. He didn’t have that message that he usually had. So, those are a number of the things that you look for, and weight for, and watch for.”

SEC Media Days are scheduled to take place in Atlanta, Georgia. They’ll kick off on July 14th and run through July 17th.