Dave Feit: Paul Finebaum and the De-evolution of ESPN

So ... Nebraska's Matt Rhule should "shut up and coach better" because he advocated for his conference? Logic isn't a priority at the one-time "Worldwide Leader."

Jan 1, 2019; Orlando, FL, USA; SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum speaks prior to the 2019 Citrus Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Kentucky Wildcats at Camping World Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, ESPN personality Paul Finebaum made headlines with a short tirade against Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, on the show "Get Up".

Host Mike Greenberg played a clip from Big Ten Media Days where Rhule said that he believes the B1G is the nation's best conference and thinks four teams "should get in every year" to the expanded college football playoff. 

Greenberg - and this is notable - started the segment by twisting Rhule's words, suggesting that Rhule believes "the Big Ten should just automatically get four teams in the playoff", before throwing it over to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, I mean, Finebaum, who was already shaking his head like a Great Value C. Montgomery Burns. 

And off he went. 

* * * 

Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room from the beginning:  Paul Finebaum is mostly doing performative kayfabe.  He's a longtime shill for the SEC, employed by a company that owns rights to the SEC Network, and is a primary rights holder for SEC sports.  It’s his schtick, a character he plays on TV, and about the farthest he could get from his days as an actual journalist. 

So, when somebody from the Big Ten - a conference that ESPN is no longer contractually involved with – dares to suggest that the SEC may not be the biggest, baddest brand in the land, Finebaum gets to ignite his inner Vince McMahon.  This is especially true if Finebaum can make a case for that person's apples being inferior to the best oranges in his kingdom.

The de-evolution of ESPN - or, more appropriately, shifting the meaning of "E" from "Entertainment" to "Embrace Debate" - is a big part of why Finebaum went viral with Nebraska and college football fans. 

A statement like Rhule made - even one with an obvious moment of respectful genuflecting at the SEC's feet - is chum in the water for a daytime ESPN show.  Remember:  it doesn't even matter if Finebaum believes the words coming out of his mouth.  His job is to stir up passion on both sides.  He clearly accomplished that goal.

ESPN’s various talking-head shows ("Get Up", "First Take", et al.) all serve the same purpose:  fill time with "live" programming and generate just enough buzz/controversy to get people to tune in tomorrow to see what crazy things will be said next.  Check and check.

I've long been on the opinion that the only reason the shows that feature Finebaum, Stephen A. Smith and other purveyors of "throw crap at a wall and see what sticks" commentary get enough ratings to stay on their air, is largely due to the numerous offices and waiting rooms around the country that turn one of the lobby TVs to ESPN in the morning - on mute, notably - and don't turn it off until they leave.

Personally, that 1:03 clip might be the longest sound bite I've ever heard from Finebaum.  But that’s mainly because I'm not interested in the 24/7/365 hot-take buffet that ESPN serves.  Much like the food at a real buffet, the one-time "Worldwide Leader's" emphasis on quantity over quality has greatly diminished the product.

Their model is clearly profitable, because they keep on doing it while people with journalistic integrity and/or a reluctance to not go scorched earth show up much less frequently than they did in the network’s glory days.

And (to borrow an old Kurt Vonnegut expression) so it goes. 

* * * 

I'm not planning to dignify many of Finebaum's attacks with a response.   

What's the point?  Sure, Rhule has not - yet - won enough games at Nebraska to, as Finebaum put it, "get to some stupid bowl game." 

As we all know, he's been in Lincoln for only one season, and inherited a program that - in terms of talent, culture, direction, and more - needed to be bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch.  There's context, there's nuance, and then there's simply ignoring data to make your point.  Finebaum chose the last one, repeatedly.   

Therefore, we're going to move past most of the cheap-shot responses ("blowing games", “talking you like you belong at the table”, etc.). 

* * * 

That said, I do want to address the "complete disaster in Carolina" comment.  I meant to write about this topic in 2023 when Carolina fans took delight in every Nebraska loss (as their franchised crashed and burned around them).  I dropped the idea because I assumed anybody with a brain had moved on. 

But Paul Finebaum proved me wrong. 

Rhule's NFL record (11-27 in a two and one-third seasons) certainly backs up Finebaum's “disaster” hyperbole. 

Heck, if you've heard Rhule talk openly and candidly about his experience (as he often does) he's more likely to agree than disagree.  That sucks for Carolina fans, and I can certainly empathize with being a fan of a floundering team. 

But - and this is very important - Matt Rhule should not bear the entirety of the blame for his NFL failures. 

In January 2020, Rhule had just finished his best season as a college coach, leading traditional doormat Baylor to an 11-1 record and a No. 7 ranking before losses in the Big XII Championship and Sugar Bowl.  He was one of the hottest names in the profession. 

I admittedly don't know much about Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, but I do know this:  He is likely one of two people in the world* who listened to that 2019 Matt Rhule Coaches Clinic speech (the one that went semi-viral before he was hired at Nebraska) and thought "Matt Rhule is destined to be a successful a NFL coach. Why is he wasting his talents in college?" 

*The other person, likely, was Rhule himself.  High-level coaches - especially those who have not yet been humbled by failure - are extremely confident people who believe they can succeed in any situation.  I can't fault Rhule for having elite self-confidence. 

In January 2020, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper offered Rhule a seven-year, $62 million contract to become head coach. 

Who is going to turn that down?  Matt Rhule didn't.   

I believe that Rhule was extremely confident that his rebuilding formula - which had worked at Temple and Baylor - would work in the National Football League.  And while it obviously did not work, it should be easy for anybody other than a diehard Panthers fan to look at the continuing failures of that franchise (8-21 since Rhule was fired, including 2-15 in 2023) and understand that the franchise's issues go a lot deeper than Matt Rhule.   

Also, as several people have pointed out, Rhule is neither the first - nor last - college coach to fail in the NFL.  It's almost as if the athletes, style of play, structure, and practically everything else are completely different between the two sports.  Which - to re-emphasize my point - makes Tepper's decision to throw $62 million at a guy who very clearly brings a collegiate, developmental mindset into his coaching approach even more baffling. 

Carolina fans, go ahead and be mad about what has happened to your team since Cam Newton led you to a Super Bowl berth.  But be sure to point the finger at your owner, and not the people he hired. 

* * * 

As we've discussed, most of what trickled out of Finebaum's trap is promotional, homer-ism noise.  The ESPN hot-take factory meets its daily quota as the content machine churns on. 

But there's one thing Finebaum said that is dangerous for the sport:  "Stay in your lane". 

That is such a dismissive load of crap.  The notion that a college coach at a power conference school (let alone, one of the game's true, blue bloods) cannot have an opinion on his sport is ridiculous.   

If Sam Pittman of Arkansas (4-8 in 2023, picked to finish 14th in 2024) said the SEC could/should be a four-bid league, Paul would praise him from the rafters.  Yet, Rhule should "shut up and coach better" because he advocated for his league?  Get out of here. 

College football is better when more teams are in the hunt for the championship.  College football is better when the name brands are good.  The college football playoff expanded (in part) because we all got tired of Alabama and Georgia every … single … year. 

If anything, I think Finebaum is threatened because he can clearly see that Matt Rhule - the failed NFL coach who is inexplicably got a job at Nebraska - is a more eloquent and passionate speaker than "Pawl".  That's the reason Finebaum signed off with "leave the punditry to the professionals." 

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