Comedian Shane Gillis revealed a heated conversation he had with legendary college football coach Nick Saban after the former suggested the latter’s Alabama Crimson Tide had cheated while he was there, on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Gillis spoke on the “Talk of the Town” podcast, where he broke down what led to the situation where the comedian said Saban “spazzed on me.”
First, Gillis told Saban’s “College GameDay” colleagues Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit that he thought Alabama had dominated college football because they had been paying players before it was legal to do so through NIL deals.
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Standup comic Shane Gillis will start a global area tour in January 2025. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation)
“After I said that, we had to go into the stadium to sit at the desk, and I got in there, and he [Saban] was like, ‘I heard what you said,’” Gillis said. “And I was like, ‘Holy s–t,’ and then McAfee and Herbstreit were like, ‘He’s just breaking your b—s, dude.’
“’He loves messing with guys. Like he’s literally just f—ing with you,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, alright. I’ll f— with him back.'”
Gillis’ antics weren’t received well by Saban, as the comedian doubled down during his Dec. 20 appearance at the Notre Dame-Indiana College Football Playoff game.
“I was just joking around. I don’t think the SEC paid players ever,” Gillis said on the broadcast. Is this not a fun show? Is this a serious show? Alabama Jones is looking very serious.”
Nick Saban hosts the ESPN College GameDay show before the first round of the College Football Playoff between Notre Dame and Indiana on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend. (Michael Clubb/South Bend Trubube / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“Alabama Jones” referred to Saban, who was wearing a hat that resembled the one worn by Indiana Jones.
Saban had a retort to Gillis, and he was certainly being serious.
“I do believe in integrity. I always tried to run the program that way so players had a better chance to be successful in life,” Saban said. “We make more money in the NFL than any other school, 61 players in the league. That was how we cheated. We developed players.”
After the cameras were off, Gillis said that Saban was actually upset after McAfee and Herbstreit said to go talk to him.
“So, I went up to him after, he was like, ‘You think the SEC dominated cause we cheated? That’s bulls—.’ He spazzed on me,” Gillis said.
Standup comic Shane Gillis will start a global area tour in January 2025. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation)
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Saban is well known for his six national titles during his time in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide became a college football powerhouse. He also led the LSU Tigers to the BCS National Champions Game after the 2003 regular season.
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