Comedian Shane Gillis said that legendary coach Nick Saban freaked out on him for jokes he made about the Southeast Conference paying players in order to win championships.
Gillis started rattling cages on December 20, before Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17. During the pregame show, Gillis was asked for a prediction.
‘I would have never done that if I thought he was serious.’
“Always with Notre Dame. It’s like, here’s the big game. Let’s hopefully win it,” he began. “This feels different. Feels like we can win it. You know? There’s some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players, Notre Dame has a shot. It’s not just the SEC. It’s not coach Saban,” Gillis laughed.
Saban coached in the SEC with Alabama from 2007-2023. Essentially, Gillis was joking that Saban got a competitive edge by paying players to come to his school well before name, image, and likeness deals were allowed by the NCAA in 2021.
Later that day, Gillis joined Saban, hosts Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit, and others at the “ESPN College Gameday” desk and seemed reluctant to keep up his jokes.
“You called him a cheater earlier,” McAfee said to Gillis about Saban.
“I was just joking around. I don’t think the SEC paid players, ever,” Gillis replied. He then nervously added, “Is this not a fun show? Serious show?”
Gillis then said, “Alabama Jones is very serious,” comparing coach Saban’s hat to movie character Indiana Jones.
Saban replied, “No. I’m not serious.”
“I do believe in integrity. I was trying to run the program that way so players had a better chance to be successful in life. You make more money in the NFL than any other school. 61 players in the league. That was how we cheated. We developed players,” Saban clarified, rejecting Gillis’ notion.
However, Gillis later stated that Saban’s claim that he isn’t serious was a bit of acting and that Saban yelled at him when the cameras were off.
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Weeks later, Gillis said on his show, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” that hosts McAfee and Herbstreit kept telling him that Saban loved joking around.
“I would have never done that if I thought he was serious,” Gillis said about Saban. “They told me he was f***ing around, so I started f***ing with him.”
The comedian continued, “Then as soon as we get done, I tell Herbstreit and McAfee. I’m like, ‘Bro, he was definitely serious.’ And they’re like, ‘No way he was serious. Go talk to him,'” Gillis revealed.
Gillis said he then went up to Saban and the coach exploded, “You think the SEC dominated because we cheated?! That’s bulls**t!”
“He spazzed on me,” Gillis laughed.
Gillis’ story concluded by saying he had to help Saban off the stage. He noted that Saban “looked around to see if anybody else could help him,” but at 73 years old, was forced to accept his offer.
Gillis’ favorite team, Notre Dame, has advanced to NCAA national championship game on January 20.
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