Paul Finebaum might not be as fiery as he once was, but make no mistake — he’s not stepping away from college football anytime soon.
The longtime ESPN and SEC personality addressed the retirement chatter in the most Paul Finebaum way possible — with a joke. During a recent exchange with Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the coach asked him point-blank about hanging it up.
“It’s been suggested to me to retire immediately,” Finebaum laughed. “But I enjoy it. I mean, I really do. As long as there are people like Coach Drink to kick around, I’ll keep going.”
Classic.
While Finebaum reportedly admitted he’s not quite the “coach killer” he used to be — even calling himself more of a “cheerleader” these days — he’s still not afraid to stir the pot. Just ask Kalen DeBoer, who got a taste of the Finebaum treatment after taking over at Alabama. Or the SEC and Big Ten brass, who’ve caught plenty of heat from him over the push for automatic College Football Playoff bids. And, of course, Finebaum uses his platform it seems like weekly to blast programs from outside of the SEC, just recently taking his shot at Clemson and Florida State.
It’s worth noting that he and his wife recently moved back to Alabama, buying a $5.16 million home in Mountain Brook. That move came not long after he signed a new multi-year extension with ESPN, so clearly, he’s not looking to ride off into the sunset. Even with the move, “The Paul Finebaum Show” is still running out of Charlotte.
Finebaum may have softened his tone a bit — at least at times — he's not going anywhere. It shouldn't really be surprising, either, since he loves being the face and voice of the SEC, as he has been forever.