Legendary seven-time NCAA football champion Nick Saban did not take too kindly to comedian Shane Gillis questioning his recruiting tactics or the legitimacy of his success at Alabama last week on College GameDay, and the jokes from Gillis still aren’t sitting right with Saban.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, heading into the second week of the College Football Playoff, Saban was asked about Gillis’ comments and made it clear he still wasn’t amused by the Tires star hinting that Saban paid off his players to come to Tuscaloosa.
“I understand he’s a comedian … and I guess you’ve gotta live with it,” Saban said of their run-in on the campus of Notre Dame on the first night of the CFP. “He was trying to be funny, which I get it. And my daughter Kristen loves him so that kinda soothes the soul a little bit that somebody in our family likes the guy.”
“I understand that Shane Gillis is a comedian and he was trying to be funny..
My daughter loves him so at least somebody in our family likes the guy” 😂😂 ~ Coach Saban#PMSLive https://t.co/xqVBj2uhIS pic.twitter.com/c5h9VOKv9c
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 27, 2024
During the tense exchange on ESPN, Gillis also called Saban “Alabama Jones,” making fun of Saban’s hat choice during the broadcast, which admittedly looked like something out of Harrison Ford’s wardrobe in the adventure trilogy Indiana Jones.
Saban probably isn’t used to people being around him who don’t kiss the ring(s). In all fairness to the legendary coach, his defensiveness around his ability to develop players and craft teams is earned. But as a comic, Gillis is on set to bring some chaos and lighten the mood.
“You called him a cheater earlier.” – Pat McAfee
“I was just joking around… Is this not a fun show? Is this a serious show? Alabama Jones is very serious.” – Shane Gillis
“… That was how we cheated. We developed players.” – Nick Saban https://t.co/o4pwKoByhL pic.twitter.com/GXwb9EMhMV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 21, 2024
The exchange went viral online and added to the spice of the first-ever 12-team CFP (of which Alabama was left out), so even if Saban is still holding a grudge, the move by Gillis certainly worked.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.