Paul Finebaum: How I Nearly Got Fired Before SEC Network Launch

Summary

Podcast Summary: That SEC Football Podcast

Episode: Paul Finebaum: How I Nearly Got Fired Before SEC Network Launch

Date: July 26, 2026

Host: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike), Cousin Shane
Guest: Paul Finebaum
Twitter: @MichaelWBratton, @BigOrangeVolz

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Overview

In this special Media Days episode, Michael Bratton (SEC Mike) and Cousin Shane sit down with legendary SEC personality Paul Finebaum. The discussion dives into the wildest moments in SEC Media Days history, Finebaum's career, and behind-the-scenes stories—including his near-dismissal before the SEC Network even launched. The episode is laced with signature witty banter, media insights, and SEC insider history, delivering a blend of humor, candor, and football nostalgia.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Art and Tradition of SEC Media Days

• Finebaum’s First Media Days (05:08): Paul recollects his first SEC Media Days in 1985, covering Alabama’s Mike Shula as quarterback, with fewer than 50 attendees and mostly newspaper reporters.
  • Quote: “There was no such thing. I mean, you had a lot of newspaper guys, right? A couple of radio and TV guys. I'm not sure there were 50 people.” (05:38)
• On Ranking Coaches (06:16): Finebaum claims credit for inventing the coach ranking column in the late 1980s, strategically placing the “hot seat” coach in the bottom spot to stir reactions.
  • Quote: “I would always, on the first day of media days, have the same column...I ranked the coaches. It had never happened before.” (06:16)

2. Legendary SEC Moments and Escapades

• Philip Fulmer Subpoena Incident (07:21): Recalls the infamous moment when then-Tennessee Coach Fulmer was served a subpoena at Media Days, calling it one of the wildest events ever.
• Challenging Nick Saban (07:54): Finebaum recounts pushing Saban on set, leading to a tense exchange where Saban told him off.
• The Cam Newton “Bag Man” Revelation (08:37): A major highlight as Finebaum retells the day Danny Sheridan nearly named the person who allegedly paid Cam Newton, hijacking all Media Days headlines.
  • Quote: “Danny Sheridan about to name the bag man. And five minutes into it, I'm saying, ‘Danny...he said, aren't we going to talk about who's going to win the east and West? I said, no, we're not going to talk about that.’” (08:37)

3. Life Behind the SEC Network Curtain

• Finebaum’s Hiring and Almost-Firing (11:55): Paul tells, for the first time publicly, how his sharp criticism of Jadeveon Clowney (fueled by conversations with Steve Spurrier) nearly led to his firing before the network debuted.
  • (13:00) “I was on with Ryan McGee and Dari Noka… and we got to jadeveon Clowney and they said, what do you think? I said, jadeveon Clowney looked in the camera. I said, judevion Clowney is the biggest joke in college football. That's easy. Disgrace. Now why did I say [it]? Spurrier told me.”
  • Recounts the cascade of backlash from South Carolina administration, Ray Tanner, Spurrier's about-face on TV, and Mike Slive’s reprimand.
  • Quote: “The network had not started yet and they were thinking about firing me. My wife had quit her job. I had already moved to Charlotte. I'm going, this might be... the shortest run ever. I mean this, this might be a worse gig than Urban Meyer with the Jaguars.” (15:36)

4. SEC Media Days: The Scenes, the People, and the Food

• On Tampa & Media Days Food (04:10): Paul jokes that his best meal in Tampa was with the hosts the previous night—he's only had “table scraps” since due to the non-stop show schedule.
• Media Personalities Impressions (10:10): Finebaum gives kudos to Damien Harris, recommended by Shane, noting his intelligence and candor on air.
  • Quote: “He’s really good. He told me off the air that DeBoer might not make it.” (10:38)
• Alabama, Boosters, and Kalen DeBoer’s Job Security (10:38): Shares a story about early-season panic among Alabama boosters and discussions about firing DeBoer after one loss, only to see the narrative flip after a win over Georgia.

5. Humor, Banter, and the SEC’s Unrivaled Personality

• Running Gags and Banter:
  • Cousin Shane and SEC Mike joke about being “the worst interviewers,” Paul riffs on media traditions, and there’s playful ribbing about “Legend” being escorted out of Media Days (09:31).
  • Finebaum recalls being impressed neither by food nor by new media personalities this year, except for Harris.
  • “No, no. I mean, at some point, I better. I really should ask you, because you guys have probably talked to as many as I have, but I really like that.” (10:10)
• Finebaum’s Bold Take (16:20): When pressed for a bold SEC take for a Tennessee whiskey sponsor, Finebaum jokes:
  • “I have a lot of them, and I'll give them to you when I get some Tennessee whiskey in return for this answer. You think I'm giving free stuff away on this show?” (16:20)
  • Mocks the idea with a “QR code” for hot takes (16:41).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Finebaum on Spurrier/Clowney controversy:
  • “He called me and said, this guy is one of the worst players I've ever had… Now we all know Jadeveon Clowney went number one the next year.” (12:14)
• On nearly getting fired:
  • “The network had not started yet and they were thinking about firing me. My wife had quit her job. I had already moved to Charlotte…” (15:36)
• On SEC Media Days chaos:
  • “It's such an SEC thing for a caller to be almost credentialed at media days. But he still gets kicked out…” (09:38)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• SEC Media Days Banter & Lane Kiffin Question: 02:20 – 03:41
• Finebaum’s First Media Days Memories & Coach Rankings: 04:54 – 07:21
• Fulmer Subpoena, Saban Confrontation, Cam Newton ‘Bag Man’: 07:21 – 09:18
• Legend Kicked Out & Media Impressions: 09:31 – 10:28
• Alabama/DeBoer Booster Panic: 10:38 – 11:45
• Finebaum’s SEC Network Near-Firing/Clowney Incident: 11:55 – 15:50
• Boldest SEC Take and Outtro: 16:11 – 16:41

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Tone and Language

The mood throughout is informal, sharp, and irreverent, with SEC Mike and Cousin Shane poking fun both at themselves and at Finebaum. Finebaum matches their tone—self-deprecating, witty, unfiltered, and brimming with Southern football folklore. The conversation is rich for SEC fans, loaded with inside jokes, revealing anecdotes, and rapid-fire banter.

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Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for SEC diehards and college football history buffs. Paul Finebaum, ever the raconteur, delivers stories both hilarious and historic—detailing the chaos, the personalities, and even the near-career-ending controversy that shaped his role as the voice of the SEC.

For a taste of SEC media days like you’ve never heard before, this episode is pure gold.

Transcript

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[Paul Feinbaum]

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[Paul Feinbaum]

Did you run this by ESPN pr?

[Media Host]

I did. All right, we're here. SEC Media Day's Paul Feinbaum. Worst interviewers in here gotta be us, right?

[Paul Feinbaum]

So I've never done it. Do I look at you or you or at that camera?

[Media Host]

You can look at us.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Okay. Thanks for having me on the show. Don't you always like that? You want to get right to it we got Lane Kiffin on. Lane Kiffin's been lying. Lane, thanks for being on. Thank you. Well, appreciate you having me. And by the way, before I start, cousin Shane.

[Shane Beamer]

Yes, sir.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I just got the word and I didn't want to tell Bratton this to his face. This is his last media days.

[Carl's Jr. Spokesperson]

Knew it.

[Shane Beamer]

I knew it was coming.

[Paul Feinbaum]

He. He's going to be with Legend next year at Media Days. Oh, man.

[Media Host]

I almost expected the security to escort me out.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You created. I just told him I just got finished doing a SportsCenter live that's from ESPN. And they played the cut first video. Paul, what's your reaction? It was Michael Bratton's question to Lane Kiffin, the talk of media Days.

[Media Host]

Yeah, well, these coaches, they don't want to be asked anything of substance, so I had to take my shot there.

[Paul Feinbaum]

You did. It was a good. It was a good shot and I appreciate it because about time somebody asked Lane Kiffin a real question.

[Carl's Jr. Spokesperson]

Absolutely.

[Shane Beamer]

I mean, they're asking Pete the tough questions. Why can't we ask Lane the tough questions?

[Media Host]

Because he's a media darling.

[Paul Feinbaum]

And one other thing. I learned something today that I didn't know and I'm very upset about it. Hulk Hogan is dead. Where do I send flowers?

[Media Host]

What's the best food you've had here in Tampa?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Really, the best and only meal I had was with you guys. We went out last night. I have been. I've been eating table scraps since then. We've done two primetime shows here, so there hasn't been much time for the delicacies of Tampa Bay, whatever they are.

[Media Host]

Because that's a lot of what we do. We just ask Shane, you know, what is his top meals power rank them. Because everybody is talking the same questions. Shane's out here raking straws at fast food destination.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I did radio row and by the time I got to Arkansas, some of us said, how do you think the Hogs are going to do? I go, who cares? But I mean, it's just. It's been fun. It's been a great 15 days here in Tampa.

[Shane Beamer]

Yeah. How many media days have you done now? Have you thought about it?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I have. I woke up to say, when was my. The very first media days? You know, there used to be a skywriter story.

[Shane Beamer]

Right.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I never made that because I was too young and I didn't know enough ladies of the evening around the SEC to qualify. I mean, the stories are endless, as you well know. So in 1985, they started Media days in Birmingham, and I covered It. And Mike Shul was the quarterback for Alabama.

[Shane Beamer]

Yeah. Was it. How many media personalities were in that room?

[Paul Feinbaum]

I guess Bo Jackson was there too. There were. I mean, there was no such thing. I mean, you had a lot of newspaper guys, right? A couple of radio and TV guys. I'm not sure there were 50 people.

[Media Host]

There was Shoeless Bad of a player as he is a coach.

[Paul Feinbaum]

He was actually a pretty decent quarterback. I thought so, but not. But yeah, no, I mean, I mean he was an average quarterback as far as head football coach, offensive coordinator, worst ever, ever, ever. But he was so bad that Shane Bieber said, I'm going to get Mike Schulen here to resurrect my program.

[Media Host]

Now, isn't it true that I think maybe even at media days, kind of like the hot seat ranking for all these coaches?

[Paul Feinbaum]

No, what I did and I did. I'm, you know, a lot of guys say I'm the first in. I think it was 1988 or 89 because it was always in Birmingham. And I worked for the newspaper that came out in the morning. That was a big deal because, you know, all the media scribes staying and they pick up the morning paper. I'm trying to impress them, so. Trying to get noticed. Trying to get out of Birmingham. And I would always, on the first day of media days, have the same column it was. I ranked the coaches. It had never happened before. Nobody had ever done that before. And you know, the guy that came in last was, you know, usually pretty ticked off because he would see it and I would try to, you know, if the coach was like either back then there were 12, if it was like 10, 11 or 12, I'd make sure I picked the coach that was getting first to be 12th. That would be on the. You heard about the seven part Nick Saban documentary. That would be part one of the Paul Feinbaugh documentary. The newspaper years.

[Media Host]

Anything wilder than Fulmer getting subpoenaed at an SEC media?

[Paul Feinbaum]

No, no. That was crazy. The year before, I think Fulmer had. Yeah.

[Media Host]

Call in.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah. That was probably the strangest when you had about 400 people sitting around a speaker. That was a. That was a two year wild escapade. I mean, there's been some moments probably, you know, you always hear about the Oklahoma, Texas moment. But I've always thought one of the bigger moments. I played a role in a couple of, you know, the Dick saban thing about 10 years ago when I challenged him on the set.

[Shane Beamer]

Yeah.

[Paul Feinbaum]

And he got really ticked off and told me basically to shut up. But the biggest moment, I think, was in 2010 or 2011. I'm sorry. Auburn had won the national championship and I had, you know, Danny Sheridan. So Danny. Danny happened to be in Birmingham. I said, come up for me today sometime and we'll do an interview. So you're mainly going to talk about odds and everything. So we're sitting there, first day, I asked Danny, I said, so, Danny, let's talk about the sec. He said, yeah, it's really interesting because I just saw Gene Chisik, and by the way, I know who the bag man was who paid Cam Newton. Do you remember this?

[Media Host]

Yeah.

[Paul Feinbaum]

And I'm like, well, what? I said, can you tell us more about it? He said, yeah, it kind of went through this and that. And I mean, I'm looking at social media and 2011 social media was coming alive. It started to explode. Danny Sheridan about to name the bag man. And five minutes into it, I'm saying, danny. He said, aren't we going to talk about who's going to win the east and West? I said, no, we're not going to talk about that. You think the SEC got really ticked that day one got hijacked. Headlines. Bagman in Cam Newton affair. I was really proud of that.

[Shane Beamer]

Have you got any texts from Sankey this week telling you to calm down or anything?

[Paul Feinbaum]

I've seen him a few times. He will be on our show not long after I walk away from here. So we'll find out.

[Media Host]

And so now this will be the media days forever known as Legend got escorted out. Yeah.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Because of pending litigation. I'm really not allowed to discuss that. But, I mean, it's. It's. It's. Somebody tweeted it. I don't know who it was. It's such a. It's. It's such an SEC thing for a caller to be almost credentialed at media days. But his. His organization was. But he still gets kicked out for doing whatever he did, and I still don't know what he did.

[Shane Beamer]

Any new media personalities that you've talked to and you were kind of impressed walking away from.

[Paul Feinbaum]

No, no. I mean, at some point, I better. I really should ask you, because you guys have probably talked to as many as I have, but I really like that.

[Media Host]

Damien Harris.

[Shane Beamer]

Damien Harris.

[Media Host]

That was a recommendation from you. He came and he really delivered.

[Shane Beamer]

Yeah. Smart fella. I enjoyed the conversations and wish. Wish we could have went a little bit longer, you know, talking about his time down in Alabama.

[Media Host]

He.

[Paul Feinbaum]

I forgot about him. He's really good. He told me off the air that DeBoer might not make it. Oh, I'm sorry. I will tell you this. I don't know if I've said this before. Last year I'm trying to remember where I was. I was in Tuscaloosa mid season. That's what it was for the Tennessee game and I ran into some fat cat at the hotel really early as we were. You know, we get out early because the show starts at 9, I think. And he said, can I talk? I said, yeah. I didn't know him, but he's 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 this is day one the season, that Sunday morning. He said on the 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? That's how bad that loss was. And then of course, he beat Georgia a few weeks later and turned it all around.

[Media Host]

Hey, Sankey told us something about getting upset at you over Jadevion Clowney. Comments could you rehash any of that?

[Paul Feinbaum]

I don't remember anything about that.

[Shane Beamer]

Yes.

[Paul Feinbaum]

So I get hired by the SEC network and the problem is this is now the spring summer of 2013 and the network didn't start until August of 14 so they had to find something for me to do. They asked me to move to Charlotte and do the radio show there, getting ready for the network. They put me on all the espn. I actually did college game day that year. Normally you don't start your career doing college game day to get some reps for SEC Nation. Both equal shows. But so J. Davey on Clowney was he missed a couple of practices for South Carolina. Never revealed this story, but only on the oh, I'm just only on that SEC podcast and I'm on ESPNU back then, had a lot of show. I was on one of the shows and criticized them and Spurrier saw it and you know, I started with his coach. He called me and said, this guy is one of the worst players I've ever had. He doesn't come to practice. He doesn't do anything right, doesn't listen to anything he said. He's driving me crazy. I don't know how much longer he's going to be on team. Now we all know Jadevian Clowney went number one the next year. So I was on a show the very next day. It's called the Insider it was something ESPN. You had a show on like 23 hours a day. And I was on with Ryan McGee and Dari Noka and all these guys. And we got to judeveon Clowney and they said, what do you think? I said, jadevion Clowney looked in the camera. I said, judevion Clowney is the biggest joke in college football. That's easy. Disgrace. Now why did I say Casper told me? So here's what happened. South Carolina was playing somebody that day

[Carl's Jr. Spokesperson]

and

[Paul Feinbaum]

there somebody got some bad information to game day. I was on game day that we were literally from Washington, University of Washington, where Lane Kiffin was the featured guest after getting fired from Southern. Not to belabor the point, but all of a sudden I start seeing some stuff. Ray Tanner, former baseball coach, AD he hired Shane Beamer was on the pre game show and he saw something and the guy told him that I had said Jedave Young Clowney was going to be suspended. So he comes on the pregame show and rips me. He said, this guy is a disgrace. He shouldn't be on the SEC network, blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile, Spurrier's interviewed by GameDay. He said, those reports, complete lie. Davion Klein, he's one of the finest players we've ever had. I'm like going, whoa. So it gets to Mike's live. The next Monday, they're having a president's meeting and the president of South Carolina complains about me and Slide doesn't have any idea. He said, he said what? He said he called me. That's outrageous. So Slive just calls me and starts chewing me out. And you can't explain your way out of that. You can't blame it all on Steve Spurger who called his own player a joke. But anyway, that, that's, that was a. That was my one, probably one. I literally. I mean, the network had not started yet and they were thinking about firing me. I had. I mean, my wife had quit her job. I had already moved to Charlotte. I'm going, this might be. I mean, this might be the shortest run ever. I mean this, this might be a worse gig than Urban Meyer with the Jaguars.

[Media Host]

All right, Paul, last thing for you. Really appreciate your time.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Thank you.

[Media Host]

All of our coverage.

[Paul Feinbaum]

What am I getting paid?

[Media Host]

Shane.

[Shane Beamer]

Shane will discuss offline. Yeah, thank you.

[Media Host]

We don't like to say that on air we pay people, but all of our coverage at Media Days is brought to you.

[Shane Beamer]

He could keep the chair.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Let's give them that.

[Media Host]

Yeah, you can have the chair. Our coverage is brought to you. By Tennessee legend. They make the best Tennessee whiskey that you can buy.

[Paul Feinbaum]

Really?

[Shane Beamer]

Hell, yeah.

[Media Host]

So we're asking everybody for their Tennessee legend boldest take entering the season. Could be anything SEC related. Do you have a bold take for us?

[Paul Feinbaum]

Yeah, I do. I have a lot of them, and I'll give them to you when I get some Tennessee whiskey in return for this answer. You think I'm giving free stuff away on this show? I got my own 900 service. Here it is right now. And if you want, here's the QR code. If you want to, you know, put your phone up against it.

[Media Host]

All right, that's perfect.

[Shane Beamer]

Thank you, Paul.

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