What makes Paul Finebaum so good at what he does (and so insufferable at times, too!) is that he never shies away from saying exactly what’s on his mind, even if it’ll ruffle a few feathers here and there.
So it shouldn’t be surprising at all that he’s got some strong and contrasting thoughts on the broadcast debuts of Nick Saban and Tom Brady.
Both Saban and Brady are making their debuts on the media side of things this year. Saban has become a fixture for ESPN’s College GameDay and is doing game analysis. Meanwhile, Brady is calling games for Fox this year and had his regular-season debut in Week 1.
Finebaum had some kind words to say about one of them! As for the other? Well, uh, let’s just say he can get better.
Here’s what he had to say on Saban vs. Brady in an interview with Awful Announcing:
“He’s brilliant. I was prepared for him to be smart. He’s the best coach of all time. I was not quite ready to hear him be so analytical and precise. Sitting there listening to Saban and comparing that with Tom Brady, who’s in the same position as the greatest that’s ever played his position, stumble, fumble and waste the audience’s time with hackneyed cliches and tempered comments when good, well-founded experience and opinion would suffice has been fascinating. I don’t think Nick Saban could be off to a better start.”
Paul Finebaum on Nick Saban's early life as a broadcaster at ESPN and how it compares to Tom Brady's Fox debut. 👀 pic.twitter.com/KJ7OeKXOgf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 12, 2024
Now, to be fair to Brady, it’s only been one week. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase before, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Brady might improve by the end of the season.
With that said, Finebaum ain’t lyin’. Brady was nervous, awkward and sort of dry with his work in the booth. Finebaum wasn’t the only critical one — Scott Hanson also had some negative things to say about his debut, though, he eventually apologized for them.
Brady’s got a lot of work to do if he wants to be good at his job. Is Finebaum a bit out of line for calling him out unnecessarily here? Sure. But he’s not wrong.
