Pat McAfee is known for his antics. Bold, entertaining, and often polarizing in the best way possible. Leave it to him to turn a simple conversation into a viral headline. During a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the former NFL punter and now ESPN personality was joined by Nick Saban, the legendary former Alabama head coach. In the middle of their conversation, Saban brought up one unforgettable moment from McAfee’s College GameDay days. While discussing a viral moment from his past, McAfee took a moment to praise a former ESPN analyst, hinting that he’d love to see him return to the show.

During the show, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee looked back on a viral GameDay moment from the Georgia-Alabama matchup, where McAfee fired up the Georgia crowd into thinking he was going to pick their team, only to flip the script and shout, “Give me Alabama,” sending fans into a frenzy. The moment earned him plenty of hate from Georgia fans, even leading to him getting kicked out of a restaurant in Athens. But on his latest show, McAfee made it clear that not everyone in Georgia held a grudge. Among those who showed support was David Pollack, a proud Georgia alum and longtime College GameDay analyst.

On his recent show, McAfee spoke warmly about Pollack, reflecting on how the veteran broadcaster helped him find his footing when he first joined ESPN’s flagship college football program. He often calls the former Georgia alum “a legend and a great analyst.” He went on to express genuine regret that Pollack was let go during ESPN’s 2023 layoffs, insisting that he wishes the network would bring him back. “I love David Pollack. He was part of College Gameday. He was very nice to me. I come on, and then Pollack ends up not being on the show because his contract was up, or whatever the case may be. I wish they had brought him back.” Patt McAfee expressed on his show.

David Pollack was part of ESPN’s College GameDay crew for twelve years. He joined ESPN in 2009 and began working as a college football analyst in 2011. So, it came as a shock when Pollack was fired in 2023 due to cost-cutting layoffs, marking the end of Pollack’s career in traditional media. McAfee was quick to clarify that he had no involvement in Pollack’s departure and that he deeply respected him both as an analyst and as a person.

Pollack, for his part, has never blamed McAfee for the shake-up. In a July interview with On3’s Pete Nakos, he dismissed the idea that McAfee played any role in his exit. “That’s a topic that people always want to bring up, but I don’t feel like that was Pat’s fault,” Pollack said. “Pat was hired to do a job, just like I would have been called in to do a job. I don’t feel like Pat was the reason, no.”

The former legendary Georgia linebacker then launched his See Ball Get Ball With David Pollack podcast last year. He started a platform where he could openly give his takes on games, players, and coaches without corporate interference. Now that Pat McAfee has publicly voiced his opinion on Pollack, maybe ESPN will reconsider its decision.

However, not all are on the good end of Pat McAfee’s public voice.

Pat McAfee makes fun of Kirk Herbstreit over Disney-YouTube dispute post

With both YouTube and Disney locked in a rights access and fees issues battle, it would’ve been a surprise to see Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee cross paths. The disagreement between the two companies centers around YouTube TV users’ risk of losing ESPN channels unless a new deal is reached.

Kirk Herbstreit weighed his opinion on the matter, posting on X, which read, “go to keepmynetworks.com now to get ESPN back so you can watch College GameDay and all of this weekend’s CFB matchups on ESPN and ABC.” That’s when Pat McAfee stepped in, publicly mocking Herbstreit’s post with a video tweet with the caption, “Why did you post that @KirkHerbstreit 😂😂 You’re a team player”.

In the video, McAfee argued that asking fans to visit a website to “save” the deal was unhelpful and tone-deaf. His point was clear: fans are caught in the middle of a billion-dollar standoff between media giants, and commentators shouldn’t act as corporate messengers. In the end, McAfee’s message boiled down to him saying, “Stop telling people to fix something that’s not their fault. Stop acting like the spokesperson for the network. Let the companies handle it.”

The duo will meet each other in Lubbock, Texas, for the Texas Tech-BYU game.