Nick Saban has established himself as the greatest head coach in college football history during 17 years with Alabama.
The way Paul Finebaum sees it, Alabama fans can thank Florida star Tim Tebow for that historic run.
How did he come to that conclusion? Finebaum explained while talking to Tebow on SEC Network.
Paul Finebaum thanks Tim Tebow for Nick Saban landing with Alabama
Here's the gist of it: Tebow was very close to committing to Alabama instead of Florida when he had to make his college choice in 2006. If he had gone to the Crimson Tide, Finebaum thinks he would have saved Mike Shula's job, which would have prevented Saban from coming to Tuscaloosa, which would have stopped the formation of the most dominant college football dynasty in history.
The problem with that is it's putting far too much faith in a true freshman quarterback to have been capable of saving Shula. First, Shula would have had to have the same boldness as Urban Meyer to use Tebow as a true freshman in the first place. It may be commonplace to see freshmen start at quarterback now, but it was rarely done in 2006.
Second, Saban probably ends up at Alabama later on anyway. It's clear he didn't take to the NFL so he wasn't likely to remain with the Dolphins beyond 2007. And the moment the Crimson Tide sniffed out that he might be available, Shula would have been easy to kick to the curb. Athletic director Mal Moore was all-in on Saban and a couple of extra wins in 2006 or 2007 wasn't going to stop him from picking Saban over Shula every time.
So Finebaum may want to credit Tebow with Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa, but let's be honest, Tebow going to Alabama would have just accelerated Saban's dominance with the Crimson Tide, not prevented it.
