Nick Saban hits Pat McAfee with weed roast after viral studio smoking controversy

ESPN media personality Pat McAfee was seen smoking what looked to be a marijuana joint in his studio earlier this week.

McAfee (who has also spoken about his love for marijuana in the past) was not put in hot water by his employers after this studio smoking controversy raised eyebrows more than the act itself.

That is not to say that McAfee escaped from the situation unscathed. Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban called McAfee out in a hilarious way when the two were on ESPN’s “College GameDay” set on Saturday morning.

“Coach, have you ever used any, like, ancient medicine to potentially calm the boys? Like maybe burn some sage? You know what I’m talking about? Cause I’ve done that. Keep the bad spirits, keep the anxiety [away],” McAfee said to Saban at one point during the broadcast.

“You do that in the studio! Just calm the lads down,” Kirk Herbstreit said to McAfee.

Then Saban added, “I actually think if we had some of your gummies, we would have won more games.”

Gummies are different from whatever McAfee was consuming in his studio. But it’s clear what the legendary coach was referring to, especially after what Herbstreit said right before.

Given Saban’s reputation of being a no-nonsense, disciplinarian coach, one would imagine he doesn’t think too kindly about McAfee’s actions.

This was not the first time McAfee has done something similar on set, as he was spotted taking a hit from a vape pen before the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

ESPN has already made it clear that it doesn’t intend to punish McAfee, so this humiliation from Saban is probably the only punishment he’ll face.