Nick Saban Claps Back at Shane Gillis for Joke About Alabama Paying Players

Ahead of No. 10 Indiana and No. 7 Notre Dame's College Football Playoff first-round contest on Friday night, comedian—and proud Fighting Irish fan—Shane Gillis joined ESPN's College GameDay as their guest picker.

While discussing ND's chances to win the 2024 national championship in a segment with Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee, Gillis took a pointed—but playful—shot at former Alabama coach Nick Saban.

"With Notre Dame it's always like, 'Here's the big game, let's hopefully win it,'" he explained. "This feels, feels different. It feels like we can win it. There's some parody. Now that everybody can pay their players Notre Dame has a shot. It's not just the SEC it's not just Coach [Nick] Saban."

Saban, of course, is also a part of College GameDay now that he's retired from coaching—and didn't seem to find Gillis' joke too funny.

"I do believe in integrity," the seven-time national champion said later in the show. "I just tried to run the program that way so players had a better chance to be successful in life. We made more money in the NFL than any other school. Sixty-one players in the league. That was how we cheated. We developed players."