Paul Finebaum Makes Bold Claim About Nick Saban's Status In The College Football World

Paul Finebaum thinks the era of Nick Saban wearing the crown has come and gone.

The Georgia Bulldogs put a bow on the college football season with a blowout win over TCU in the national title game, and the popular SEC and college football personality feels the torch has officially been passed from Saban to Kirby smart.

"Kirby Smart is the king of college football, and Nick Saban is still around. He's the elder statesman. Kirby relies on him for important issues, but Nick Saban no longer runs college football," Finebaum explained when breaking down the situation.

Paul Finebaum's claim about Nick Saban is a bold one.

It really does seem like a lot of people are ready to officially move off Alabama and onto Georgia as the new king.

To be clear, it's more than fair. Georgia just won back-to-back national titles and is 29-1 over the past two seasons.

It's definitely more than fair to claim Georgia is on the throne until they're consistently proven not to be.

However (what a beautiful word), you're fooling yourself if you think Nick Saban is just an "elder statesman" at this point.

Alabama isn't going anywhere. DraftKings has Nick Saban's with the second best odds to win the national title next season. Only Georgia is ahead of them.

The Crimson Tide also have the best recruiting class in America at the moment. The idea that Alabama couldn't be right back at the top next season is simply ludicrous.

Furthermore, history speaks for itself. While Finebaum might credit Kirby Smart for a lot of Saban's titles, Nick Saban still has seven rings as a head coach.

Nobody has more. That matters. Saban created a dynasty in Tuscaloosa unlike anything modern college football has ever seen.

That's not to say Georgia can't do the same. The Bulldogs just aren't there yet. Rattle off a few more national titles and they definitely will be, but it has to happen first.