Paul Finebaum has been one of the faces of SEC media coverage for over a decade, but the longtime ESPN analyst says he is thinking about a career change.
In an interview with Outkick founder Clay Travis that was released on Monday, Finebaum revealed that he has given consideration to leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate. The 70-year-old said the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk is what inspired him to think about running for political office.
Finebaum said he had a difficult time doing his show after Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah on Sept. 10.
“I spent four hours numb talking about things that didn’t matter to me. And it kept building throughout that weekend,” Finebaum said. “I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day. … It’s hard to describe, not being involved in politics, how that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country. And it was an awakening.”
Finebaum told Travis that he had never previously considered transitioning from sports media into politics, though people in Washington, D.C., have proposed the idea to him. He said he “got a little bit more interested” after Kirk was murdered.
Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville currently holds a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama and is running for governor of the state, so his seat could open up. Finebaum was a columnist in Birmingham before his “Paul Finebaum Show” became popular on Alabama radio. The show moved to the SEC Network in 2014.
Finebaum lived in Charlotte, where the SEC Network is headquartered, for several years before recently moving back to Alabama.
“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”
Finebaum also revealed to Travis that he is a registered Republican. He said he voted for Donald Trump and that he would run as a Republican if he were to pursue a career in politics. Though, Finebaum said ESPN “tells us not to discuss that.”
There was a rumor that a prominent college basketball coach could run for Tuberville’s senate seat, but it does not sound like that is going to happen. Finebaum said he is hoping to make a decision about his own future within the next month or so.
