LSU-Notre Dame fans get into it over Shane Gillis’s latest comments on Brian Kelly

Comedian Shane Gillis made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday to discuss the national championship game between Notre Dame and Ohio State. A comment from Gillis, a Notre Dame fan, while on the show triggered a Twitter (X) war between supporters of LSU and Notre Dame.

Gillis showered Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman with compliments, calling him the “nicest, coolest guy.” Naturally, the conversation pivoted to former Notre Dame head coach, Brian Kelly and Shane Gillis said while laughing:

“Yeah, he went to LSU, he’s going to ruin that program.”

Kelly was the head coach for the Fighting Irish between 2010-2021. He eventually left to take the head coaching role at LSU and at the time, Kelly stated that he wanted to be in an environment where he had the resources to win a national championship.

In a recent interview with CBS Sports, he spoke about how his remarks had been misinterpreted by fans and the media.

"They're selling it the way they want to sell it," Kelly said. "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. You can win championships at Notre Dame, but I chose another path because I wanted a different challenge."

Gillis’s words triggered a debate amongst college football fans, some feeling slighted by his words and others approving whole-heartedly.

“ND was crap when Coach Brian Kelly showed up, and Coach Freeman is very likable, cool, and handsome, but he’s starting a squad tonight full of seniors Coach Kelly recruited, and they still can’t win the big one. The problem isn’t the coach.” one fan tweeted.

“Terrible take. He is the winningest coach of all time at ND and took them to a Natty before NIL, Transfer Portal and lowered academic standards," another fan said.

“Brian Kelly is a failure and always will be. Don't justify his treatment of players and programs because Notre Dame didn’t win. Brian Kelly was a fraud before Notre Dame and now and forever. He had his chances and failed every time or quit before the big game," an X user wrote.

“Brian Kelly left Notre Dame and broke their hearts... then Ryan Day said, 'Hold my beer and watch this,'" another fan said.

“I just love how LSU lives rent free in Notre Dame fans heads,” one LSU fan said.

“Don’t forget, Brian Kelly had Jaden Daniels, BTJ and Nabers and didn’t win… that’s fireable imo,” an X user said

Comedian Shane Gillis claims Notre Dame loss caused dad’s heart attack

Shane Gillis’ appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” was filled with hilarious moments. One such moment was his claim that Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois caused his dad to have a heart attack.

“After Northern Illinois, I had lost faith, admittedly,” Gillis said. “My dad had a heart attack from that.”

Gillis was clearly making a joke but McAfee and his crew were momentarily shocked before Gillis informed them that his father had made a full recovery and was at the stadium enjoying the show.

“Yeah Marcus revived him,” Gillis added while laughing.

The loss Gillis referenced was Notre Dame’s shock Week 2 loss to the Northen Illinois Huskies in the regular season. The Fighting Irish were expected to dominate the Huskies but they lost instead, triggering a wave of uncertainty among their fanbase. Notre Dame was able to bounce back from the loss, winning every game thereafter until they lost to the Buckeyes in the national championship game.