It’s that time of the year again. Silly season is still in full swing, as several coaches have played the carousel to its fullest. Speculation surrounding college football’s best coaches will always be there until said coach shoots it down. That’s just the nature of football and coaching.

Speculation surrounding Auburn coach Gus Malzahn and the San Francisco 49ers has been around for a few weeks, and Malzahn was once again asked by ESPN if he has any NFL aspirations. Malzahn downplayed the NFL rumors today on SportsCenter, via AL.com.

“First of all, I love Auburn, and we just hired the best defensive mind in all of college football,” Malzahn said. “The future’s very bright, and the only thing on my mind is getting back to this game next year, to be on that sideline.”

Malzahn is widely regarded as one of the most innovative offensive minds in all of football, let alone college or the SEC. Many coaches will tell you that.

Football’s highest level always perks the interest of elite coaches. Now, whether or not we’ll ever see Malzahn actually jump to the next level is another thing. Malzahn seems to love the recruiting game, and he seems to love the impact he has on young men’s lives. It’s a complete different ballgame in the NFL.

Selfishly, I’d love to see Malzahn at football’s toughest level, but he has a beautiful gig going at Auburn. Add in Will Muschamp as his new defensive coordinator, and Auburn has more than many reasons to keep Malzahn interested and motivated.