Nick Saban fired back at his viral moment with Shane Gillis. The famed comedian made a bold joke about how NIL evens the playing field against programs like Alabama that buy players already. While Saban did not look amused by these comments, the college football legend brushed off the remarks during the Notre Dame-Indiana broadcast.

Saban continued that approach in a recent interview on The Pat McAfee Show. McAfee asked his fellow College Gameday host whether he thought Gillis was taking a shot at his integrity and if the former head coach has been able to catch up with the comedian since the moment.

“Not at all, not at all. I understand he's (Gillis) a comedian and much more intimidated by JJ Watt than he was by me, which is understandable. I guess you've got to live with it, but we were trying to create value for players so we could recruit good players. Whether it was how many degrees they got, how many guys went in the NFL, how many guys had careers that were very productive for them. And that's why we got good players, and that speaks for itself, and that's all there is to it. He was trying to be funny, which I get it, and my daughter Kristen loves him, so that soothes the soul a little bit that somebody in our family likes the guy.”

Shane Gillis' joke does point to real complaints people have had about Saban

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Shane Gillis isn't the first person to refer to Alabama giving student-athletes impermissible benefits. Countless articles have detailed the Crimson Tide's long history of unpunished NCAA violations. Even former players from other schools have called out Nick Saban for lying about paying recruits in the past. However, the accusations and reports about Saban and ex-Alabama players did not result in any punishment being enforced against the then-Crimson Tide head coach.

It doesn't appear that the NCAA is investigating any recruiting violations Saban may have committed while coaching. Therefore, jokes like the one Shane Gillis made might be the only way this real topic gets airtime in the future.

Overall, despite some controversy, Nick Saban has cemented himself as likely the greatest college football coach ever. He holds the record for most national titles, with seven, and won six championships in twelve years with Alabama. This feat will be tough to beat by anyone in the future, especially in this new era of the twelve-team playoff.