Nick Saban Makes Opinion Of Shane Gillis Clear After 'College GameDay' Appearance
There was a tense moment at last week's edition of College GameDay as guest picker Shane Gillis took a dig at former Alabama head coach Nick Saban over allegations of cheating. It's been a week since then and Saban has made his opinion of Gillis very clear.
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Saban made it clear that while he believes Gillis was trying to be funny, he doesn't like him or find him funny. He joked that his daughter likes him though, which makes her the only one in the family he knows that does.
“I understand he’s a comedian. Obviously, he’s much more intimidated by J.J. Watt than he was by me, which was understandable. I guess you’ve got to live with it. But we were trying to create value for players, and I think that’s why we were able to recruit good players. It was how many degrees they got, how many guys went to the NFL, how many guys had careers that were very productive for them. That’s why we got good players. That speaks for itself, and that’s all there is to it," Saban said.
“You know, he was trying to be funny, which — I get it. My daughter Kristen loves him. So, that’s kind of — soothe the soul, a little bit, that somebody in our family likes the guy.”
But fans aren't taking what Gillis said quite as seriously as Saban did. Many in the comments are saying that Gillis was just saying what everyone's been thinking for years:
"lets face it---Shane Gillis nailed it, and Nick got a little ruffled. You guys need Shane Gillis on more often. He was hilarious," one user replied.
"Heck, being given the nickname of "Alabama Jones", that should put anybody in your good graces. I think coach Saban needs to have fun with this now and really dig into Shane and have some fun," another suggested.
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - DECEMBER 20: Comedian Shane Gillis reacts on the field prior to the Playoff First Round game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on December 20, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
"Anybody that thinks Alabama didn’t pay players before NIL, are only kidding themselves. Gillis is right, it’s a level playing field now with NIL. Proof is in the pudding. Look at the parody this season in college football," a third declared.
It's clearly a tender subject for Saban. Maybe a little too tender.
But isn't part of comedy trying to find humor in things that bother people?
