Bill Belichick, Nick Saban Share Hilarious Moment Trading Praise on 'College GameDay'

Saban was ready with a great one-liner.
Old friends Nick Saban and Bill Belichick shared a laugh on ESPN's 'College GameDay' Saturday
Old friends Nick Saban and Bill Belichick shared a laugh on ESPN's 'College GameDay' Saturday / Sreengrab via ESPN

First-year North Carolina coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick made an appearance on ESPN's College GameDay ahead of the Tar Heels' matchup with Clemson Saturday.

Belichick worked with the legendary Alabama coach and current GameDay host Nick Saban during their time with the Browns in the 1990s, which caused Kirk Herbstreit to give them an opportunity to sing one another's praises for all to hear. The Tar Heels coach spoke to the defensive coverages he learned from Saban and the impact of their longstanding relationship.

"It was a great experience watching Nick handle the free agents and recruiting, build a program at Alabama," Belichick said from the sideline in his appearance on ESPN Saturday. "I'm very grateful for the relationship that I have with him and all the things that I've learned from him. He's the best that's ever done it and like I said, it's a real honor for me to be with him for those for years [in Cleveland] and have our relationship and friendship that's almost lifelong in this career."

Saban sat back and took in the kind words from the all-time great from the GameDay desk. He came back with a hilarious response, as he thought Belichick may have been a bit too kind.

"I never thought in all the time we've been friends that I'd ever say you're full of s---," he quipped back. "But I learned a lot more from you than you ever learned from me."

Check out the funny moment below:

Belichick's first year leading North Carolina has gotten off to a rocky start, beginning the season 2-2 with losses to TCU and UCF ahead of their home matchup with the Tigers Saturday. The Tar Heels got off to a slow start against 1-3 Clemson, allowing two early touchdowns to fall behind 14-3 just five minutes into the game.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.