Comedian Shane Gillis joined The Pat McAfee Show on Monday with much of the conversation revolved around his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Gillis spoke of his fandom and previewed the national title game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Gillis didn’t hold back his opinions on Notre Dame’s program – especially when the discussion turned to former Irish head coach Brian Kelly.
Gillis took aim at Kelly while praising Notre Dame’s current head coach, Marcus Freeman.
Gillis called Freeman the “nicest, coolest guy” in college football, gushing over his leadership and charisma.
Pat McAfee, sensing an opportunity for comedy, brought up Kelly, prompting a sharp and amusing response from the comedian.
“Yeah, he went to LSU and he’s going to ruin that program,” Gillis declared.
Gillis’ criticism of Kelly wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The comedy superstar has been outspoken about his disdain for Kelly since the coach abruptly left Notre Dame for LSU in 2021.
Kelly, who coached at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2021, initially justified his departure by saying he wanted “the resources to win a national championship.”
However, after Marcus Freeman led the Fighting Irish to the national title game, Kelly walked back some of his earlier statements.
“Why do you leave Notre Dame? You leave Notre Dame because you’re taking another challenge. I took Notre Dame to championships. It’s just the way you want to twist it: ‘You only leave Notre Dame to go win a championship.’ I wasn’t leaving Notre Dame because I couldn’t win a championship,” Kelly said.
“You can win championships at Notre Dame, but I chose another path because I wanted a different challenge.”
Despite Kelly’s attempts to explain his decision, Gillis’ negative feelings for the polarizing coach appears unwavering.
On the other hand, Kelly maintains that he still roots for Notre Dame.
“I’m happy for all those guys, I pull for them,” Kelly told CBS Sports. “A lot of the guys there that are on both sides of the ball, I recruited. Obviously I want to see those guys win it all, and I think they’re in a great position. Totally excited for those guys.”
Of course, Notre Dame ended up losing to Ohio State – and there are many fans who feel that Kelly, at least privately, was happy with the result.
After all, Kelly’s LSU Tigers haven’t sniffed a playoff berth and he knew how bad he would look if Freeman’s team won the national title, especially after the controversial comments he made about the “ceiling” of the program.
What are your thoughts on Gillis’ comments?
More importantly, what do you think Brian Kelly’s TRUE feelings are on the Notre Dame program???
