Nick Saban responds to jab from Shane Gillis on College GameDay set

The First Round of the College Football Playoff didn’t provide much in terms of on-field action. But the iron was hot as it pertained to a war of words between former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and comedian, actor and noted Notre Dame fan Shane Gillis.

During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay, Gillis went viral for a number of reasons, including insinuating Saban and the SEC as a whole paid their players before NIL became legal and never got punished. Gillis also cracked a joke about Saban’s outfit, calling him “Alabama Jones,” joking that the former Crimson Tide leader’s look last week was inspired by Indiana Jones.

While Gillis meant it all in good fun, Saban wasn’t entertained. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday afternoon, he responded in grand fashion, letting the world know that he’s still not a fan of Gillis, even if his daughter Kristen may fancy his comedy.

“Not at all,” Saban said, regarding whether he’s tried to research and understand Gillis’ humor a bit more over the past week. “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.

“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.”

Alas, Saban isn’t one to lose a battle, on or off the football field. Gillis is finding that out, even if he’s in a celebratory mood, with his Fighting Irish moving on to the Quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Day.

It might be safe to say Nick Saban might be rooting for his former assistant Kirby Smart against Shane Gillis’ favorite team though, even with the potential of “Alabama Jones” irking the Crimson Tide faithful by doing so.