Comedian Shane Gillis says he was furious when legendary coach Nick Saban made a joke about the Southeast Conference paying players to win championships.
Gillis started rattling the cage on Dec. 20, before Notre Dame beat Indiana. 27-17. During the pregame show, Gillis was asked for his prediction.
“If he had thought he was serious, he would never have done that.”
“It's always with Notre Dame. It's like, this is a big game. Hopefully we win,” he began. “It feels different. I feel like we can win. You know? There's some level of equality. Now that everyone can pay their players, Notre Dame has a chance. It's not just the SEC. It's not just Coach Saban.” laughed.
Saban coached at Alabama in the SEC from 2007 to 2023. Essentially, Gillis joked that Saban gained a competitive edge by paying players to come to his school long before name, image and likeness agreements were allowed by the NCAA in 2021. That's what he was saying.
Later that day, Gillis gathered at the “ESPN College Gameday” desk with Saban, hosts Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit, and seemed unwilling to continue the joke.
“You called him a fraud earlier,” McAfee said to Gillis about Saban.
Gillis replied, “I was just joking. I don't think the SEC has ever paid a player.” Then he said, I added nervously.“Isn't this a fun show? Is it a serious show?”
Gillis then compared Coach Saban's hat to the movie character Indiana Jones, saying, “Alabama Jones is very serious.”
Saban replied, “No, I'm not serious.”
“I believe in integrity. I tried to run the program that way so our players had a better chance to succeed in life. We spend more money than any other school in the NFL. There are 61 players in the league. That's how we developed players,” Saban clarified, rejecting Gillis' idea.
However, Gillis later said Saban's claim that he was not serious was a bit of an act, and that Saban yelled at him when the cameras were off.
Rick Tapia/Getty Images
A few weeks later, Gillis said on his show:Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast” hosts McAfee and Herb Streit continued to tell him that Saban loves to joke.
“If he thought he was serious, he never would have done that,” Gillis said of Saban. “I started having an affair with him because I was told he was cheating on me.”
The comedian continued, “So as soon as I'm done, I tell Herbstreit and McAfee. I'm like, 'Bro, he definitely meant it.'” And they said, 'There's no way he was serious,'” Gillis revealed.
Gillis said she then went to Saban, who became furious, saying, “You think the SEC has an advantage because we cheated?! That's bullish!”
“He spat on me,” Gillis laughed.
Gillis' story concluded by saying he had to help Saban off the stage. He said Saban “looked around to see if there was anyone else who could help” but at 73 years old had no choice but to accept his offer.
Notre Dame, Gillis' favorite team, advanced to the NCAA National Championship Game on Jan. 20.
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