During one of the SEC Media Days, Finebaum sat down with That SEC Podcast and dropped a tidbit about just how close Kalen DeBoer came to the edge. While recounting a trip to Tuscaloosa for the Tennessee game, Finebaum ran into a high-rolling Alabama booster early in the morning at the Capstone Hotel. That conversation exposed the sheer panic happening among the boosters, as they considered showing DeBoer the door.
“I ran into some fat cat at the hotel really early. We get out early because the show starts at 9, I think,” Paul Finebaum said. “I didn’t know him, but he was a major booster staying at the Capstone Hotel in Tuscaloosa. He said, ‘You know, things were pretty grim after the Florida State loss!’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah. There were calls being made,’ this is Day 1 of the season-Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, calls were being made like, ‘What’s it going to take, if this doesn’t turn around for us, to buy DeBoer out?’”