Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was reportedly on the verge of making a cameo on Saturday Night Live this season, but comedian Shane Gillis says the plan fell apart after a major scandal erupted within the Michigan football program.
Gillis, a die-hard Notre Dame fan who has become a familiar face around Fighting Irish events, revealed the behind-the-scenes story during an appearance on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast alongside former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton.
"I tried to get him on SNL this year," Gillis explained, sporting a Notre Dame hat. "And it was close. We were close to getting it done. I was talking to Lorne (Michaels) about it, and we were close. We were going to have him on Weekend Update, and then something happened at the Michigan program that became the biggest story in college football, and not Notre Dame, so we couldn't do it. For real. It was that week."
The timing couldn't have been worse. The same week Freeman was set to appear, former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore was fired after an investigation uncovered evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. The situation escalated when Moore allegedly broke into the staff member's home, a story that later aired on Good Morning America and dominated sports headlines nationwide.
Moore eventually reached a plea deal in March, pleading no contest to malicious use of a telecommunications device and trespassing—both misdemeanors—and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.
Gillis has been increasingly visible in the college football world. He served as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay for Notre Dame's opening-round College Football Playoff win over Indiana last December. During that appearance, he famously cracked a joke about Alabama paying players, which reportedly got under the skin of Nick Saban, who was on set that day.
The 38-year-old comedian's relationship with SNL has come full circle since he was briefly hired and then dropped from the cast in 2019. He has since mended fences with show creator Lorne Michaels and hosted the program twice—once in 2024 and again in 2025.
For Notre Dame fans, the news is a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been: Freeman, who has led the Irish to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, bringing his signature intensity and charm to the iconic Weekend Update desk. Instead, college football's biggest headlines derailed what would have been a memorable crossover moment between the gridiron and Studio 8H.