Todd McShay came with receipts against his former colleague — and he seemingly has a few more in the bank.
McShay ripped ESPN host Paul Finebaum for his continuous criticism of Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, following the Crimson Tide’s 24-21 upset victory over No. 5 ranked Georgia in Athens on Sept. 27.
Finebaum was one of the loudest voices among the media who have chastised DeBoer since struggling through his first season-plus replacing the legendary Nick Saban.
After the coach’s biggest win at the helm, McShay took the opportunity to back up DeBoer while ripping his former colleague and begging the question: How about now?
“It’s really good to see this for DeBoer,” McShay said on his Ringer podcast after the game. “Because it feels like if Alabama had lost this game after losing to Florida State, and Florida State just lost to Virginia… that place is vicious. Watch that trash, Paul Finebaum, to see how vicious… It’s just not good. It’s just not good. Humanity. Get my little shot in at Paul, one of the all-time cowards.”
McShay capped his address with a cryptic forewarning.
“Next week, I can let it all unleash” he said. “We’ll explain why later.”
McShay served as a longtime NFL draft analyst for ESPN until his departure in 2023. He made regular appearances on “The Paul Finebaum Show” during his time with the network, and there were no signs of conflict between the two until now.
The podcast was recorded on Saturday night, prior to Finebaum’s Monday announcement that he was contemplating a departure from sports media to run for United States Senate as a Republican.
While the reproach seemed out of left field, it’s not the first time McShay has called out former colleagues since leaving ESPN.
Earlier this month, he blasted Jordan Rodgers, among others, for his “horrible” coverage of Arch Manning after Texas fell to Ohio State in the season opener.