Shane Gilles pokes fun at Nick Saban, SEC over paying for players

Friday night marks the first game of the expanded College Football Playoff era, and just as everyone expected, it’s the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Indiana Hoosiers.

After years of mediocrity, reaching the playoffs on the back of an 11-1 season is a big step up for Notre Dame, and comedian Shane Gillis has an explanation for why the Irish are on the verge of a very special year. They can finally keep up with the SEC conference by paying their players.

Joining ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast from South Bend on Friday afternoon, Gillis took the opportunity to poke fun at the SEC and new GameDay host and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

“This feels different, it feels like we can win it,” Gillis said. “There’s some parity now that everybody can pay their players. Notre Dame has a chance, it’s not just the SEC and coach Saban.”

Shots were fired.

Nick Saban, ESPN GameDay commentator. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Nick Saban is not thrilled about Shane Gillis Joke

Later, when Gillis joined Saban at the GameDay panel desk, Pat McAfee pointed out, “You called him a cheater earlier,” to which Gillis stiffened, “I was just kidding, I don’t think the SEC ever paid players ever. .”

After a few beats of awkward silence, Gilles repeated, “No, I was joking, isn’t it a funny show?”

Saban, who clearly understood it was a joke, still defended himself, saying he wasn’t running his program that way, he was trying to run it with integrity and they were “cheating” by developing players into NFL stars .

It’s not exactly a secret that the SEC, and probably many other schools, were heavily involved in, um, providing financial opportunities for top players and recruits. It just means more.

Gillis is a comedian, though, and that’s what comedians do. If anything, he should have kept at it. At least he called Saban “Alabama Jones” for his confusing hat choice.