Did Finebaum Justifiably Gaslight Riley, Prime, Day, & Rhule?

By Rock Westfall

Professional provocateur par excellence Paul Finebaum made news for his gaslighting of Lincoln Riley , Deion Sanders , Ryan Day , and Matt Rhule last week. Such antics are nothing new for Finebaum, who has created a career by inciting virtual college football riots for decades. Often, Finebaum’s gaslighting is nothing more than gas. In like manner to professional wrestling, his schtick can be entertaining while also ridiculous. Last week, the infamous SEC Network host was both as he went after the arch-rival Big Ten as a bought and paid-for SEC agitator, no doubt pleasing his paymasters in the process.

Deion Sanders Should Replace Lincoln Riley at USC

Finebaum went viral with the following comments on Lincoln Riley and Deion Sanders:

"You have to win in L.A. Otherwise, you lose badly, and I think [Riley's] losing badly," Finebaum said. " I believe the answer after this season is Deion Sanders. He's going to be tired of Colorado because, quite frankly, it's not prime time. He's done well, as well as he can, with his son and Travis Hunter and all the Stephen A. and Shannon Sharpe appearances. But that's gonna dry up this year because they're not going to be that great. When you put 'Prime' in Tinseltown, I think you have one of the great combinations in history. Deion Sanders, as the coach at Southern Cal, is the answer to the problems. Lincoln Riley is a good coach. He's got a great resume. Deion Sanders just exudes exactly what that community is all about. He takes the recruiting there, which Lincoln had and then lost, but I think he sustains it, especially now."

At first glance, Finebaum seems more right than wrong about his belief that Deion Sanders should replace Lincoln Riley as head coach of the USC Trojans. As I wrote here last week, Riley is failing and was not hired to preside over rebuilds in Year 3 of his tenure.

Coach Prime would be an initial hit in Los Angeles, but would it last? Sanders hates to recruit, refusing to leave the luxurious comfort of home to do so. Counter to that is the theory that LA has more top recruits close by who would come to Deion instead.

Like Riley, Coach Prime’s teams are not physical and lack offensive line and defensive quality. The result would likely be at best, a wash: More of the same sizzle with no steak and, ultimately, an annoying bill of goods.

Ryan Day Should Be Fired for Losing to Michigan This Year

Next, Finebaum took his gas can and match to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day:

“The one deficiency they (Ohio State) have is Ryan Day. He’s yet to prove very much to me other than he can put a gaudy record up with some of the best talent in the country. He still managed to blow some of the biggest games of the year.

“He’s so lucky. He was handed the keys to the Mercedes and he’s gotten a few scraps on it. Nobody has had an easier transition than this guy. Urban Meyer quits, and Ryan Day takes over. He’s had elite quarterback after quarterback. You can just look in the NFL and see who I’m talking about. We’re not talking about Little League here. This is the big time. My issue with him isn’t his record. Big deal; he can beat up a bunch of crummy teams. My issue is, what happens when he gets to prime time?”

Finebaum is almost totally correct here. The 2024 Wolverines bear little resemblance to last year’s undefeated national championship team. The 2023 roster, support, and coaching staff have been wiped out.

Rookie head coach Sherrone Moore did fine as a fill-in during Jim Harbaugh’s suspensions but running an entire program after such a strip-down won’t be easy. Additionally, Day has arguably the most talented roster in college football, although, ironically, the quarterback may be the one area of concern.

If Day can’t get Michigan at the Shoe this year, when will he?

Finebaum Tells Matt Rhule to Stay in His Lane

Finally, Finebaum lit up Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule , who said the Big Ten is the NFL of college football and should produce four College Football Playoff Teams:

"Matt, stay in your lane," Finebaum warned. “Job one win enough games to get to some stupid bowl games. Don't worry about the big boys because you're not one of them. We saw what you did in the NFL. You were a complete disaster in Carolina. You somehow got this job in Nebraska, and you're talking like you belong at the table with Ohio State and Georgia. You don't! Just try to win maybe six games. Quit choking big games on the final play and leave the punditry to the professionals. Thank you."

Finebaum is likely going to be proven wrong about this. However, it is true that no program has won more off-season national championships than Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have written a lot of bad checks since Tom Osborne retired and must prove their optimism with substantive results on the field.

A deeper dive reveals that Rhule is building a culture based on grit, work, character, determination, brotherhood, and a 5-star freshman QB, Dylan Raiola , who he flipped from Georgia, the best program in the land.

When it comes to Nebraska, Finebaum was shallow, ill-informed, and passing gas.

To summarize, Finebaum posted a win (Ryan Day), a loss (Matt Rhule), and a tie (Lincoln Riley and Coach Prime) with an infinite amount of of social media clicks.

Just another week at the office for Paul.