Share and Follow
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum said he is considering leaving the sports network to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
In an interview with OutKick, a conservative sports outlet, Finebaum said he was mulling a campaign after “one or two people in Washington” reached out to gauge his interest in running for office.
Finebaum is a household name in Alabama, where he spent roughly three decades covering college sports in print and broadcast. His radio show was a fixture of Alabama sports coverage, especially during the heyday of the University of Alabama’s college football dynasty and intense rivalry with Auburn University.
Tuberville, the head coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008, announced earlier this year he would not run for another Senate term and will instead run for governor. His departure has set off a scramble to find another popular Republican candidate in what should still be a safe GOP seat.
Finebaum, a registered Republican, said his interests in politics picked up after the assassination of Charlie Kirk made it difficult for him to focus on sports.
“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.”
While Finebaum and his wife have lived in North Carolina for more than a decade, he told OutKick he’d be eager to move back to Alabama “the place I’ve felt most welcome,” he said and would jump into the race if requested by President Trump.
“Impossible to tell him no. There’s no way I could. I would tell him yes,” Finebaum said.
Finebaum is one of several Alabama sports legends who have been linked to the Senate seat.
Former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl was also considering running for the GOP Senate nomination in Alabama before opting against it.
A recent poll of Yellowhammer State voters also sought to gauge interest in a potential Senate run from former NFL quarterback A. J. McCarron, who is best known for leading Alabama to consecutive college football national championships in 2011 and 2012.