Back in May of 2022, then-Alabama coach Nick Saban set the college football world on fire with seven words: “A&M bought every player on their team.”

The reaction was fast and furious from all corners of the country, but what steered Saban in that direction.

Paul Finebaum, who appeared on AL.com’s Beat Everyone podcast, might have shared a role in that regard. The SEC Network analyst was answering a question about his relationship with Saban, which he described as “good, but, clearly, as you know, it’s been tested.”

Early in Saban’s career, Finebaum revealed, the former Alabama coach picked two people in every field “whether it was finance or politics.” When it came to college football, he said, it was Finebaum and the late Cecil Hurt, the former sports editor of “The Tuscaloosa News.”

One morning about two or three weeks before Saban uttered those words about Texas A&M, he called Finebaum, who didn’t answer because it was a “call block.” He checked voice mail to find Saban had called and asked him to return his call, but he didn’t have the coach’s cell number.

So, he called the office. The assistant who answered explained Saban was in a defensive meeting.

“I said, ‘Hey, please don’t interrupt him, not after what I saw in the fourth quarter of the national championship,” he quipped. “You could tell she didn’t find that to be very funny.”

For those that don’t remember – or were trying to forget – Georgia defeated Alabama 33-18 for the national title, outscoring the Tide 27-9 in the second half alone.

“He came to the phone and went on this tirade about NIL,” Finebaum said of Saban. “I listened to him. … He kept saying, ‘Well, you agree with me, don’t you?’ And I never said yes.

“Finally, this went on for 30 minutes. All I could say was you should find the right forum to be heard – whether it’s spring meetings or media days. Whatever you say will be heard by the entire country.”

Finebaum realized, at that point, Saban knew the former columnist was trying to change the direction of the call.

A friend of Finebaum’s, he recalls, was in Saban’s office a couple of days later.

“(Saban) said, ‘Paul Finebaum would not agree with anything I said,’” Finebaum recalled his friend telling him. “‘I tell you what I did. I picked up the phone and called Stephen A. Smith. He bought everything I said, but it looks like I lost Finebaum on that issue.’”

Two weeks later, on a Wednesday night in Birmingham, Saban spoke to more than a hundred local business leaders and volunteered commentary about Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 1 by 247 Sports.

“I know the consequence is going to be difficult for the people who are spending tons of money to get players,” Saban said. “You read about it, you know who they are. We were second in recruiting last year. A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness.

“We didn’t buy one player. Aight? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future, because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

The rest is history.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.