Nick Saban Brushes Off Shane Gillis 'Cheater' Joke, Fires Back With Own Zinger

Nick Saban is being a good sport amid his silly beef with Shane Gillis ... saying he understands the comedian was doing his job when cracking a joke about paying players during his legendary tenure at Alabama -- while proving he's got a sense of humor himself.

The "Tires" star initially made the comments on "College GameDay" earlier this month ... claiming Notre Dame is able to compete now that all schools allow student-athletes to get compensated for their accomplishments -- and not just Bama and the SEC in previous years.

Gillis claimed he was just teasing Saban -- who he referred to as "Alabama Jones" due to his hat choice that day -- and admitted he didn't REALLY think there was shady business going on in the conference.

Regardless, Saban defended himself and the program ... saying they acted with the utmost integrity during his 17 years at the helm.

Despite Gillis' backtracking, Saban was asked about it all during his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday ... and he explained why he was so serious in his response to the wise crack.

"He was trying to be funny, which, I get it," Saban said. "My daughter, Kristen, loves him. So, that's kinda, soothe the soul a little bit that somebody in the family likes the guy."

The dry jab landed well with McAfee, who burst into laughter.