There’s no coach in the SEC that faces annual hot seat rumors more than Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. The coach has been the subject of more of that talk recently since Auburn lost to Alabama, and last week fell to Texas A&M, which dropped the record to 5-4.

At his Tuesday press conference, Malzahn responded to a question about what is life like dealing with the hot seat talk every season. He was asked how tiresome it is, and how much of a hindrance is it to do his job.

“I’ve got a job that I’ve said before expects to win championships, and I do too,” Malzahn said. “Years that you’re not in the mix, that’s just part of it. I’m blessed to be here and excited about not only this game, but excited about next year.”

Malzahn ruffled some feathers after last week’s game against Texas A&M when he described a possible 6-4 record as being a “solid year.”

The eighth-year coach took another stab at that description in meeting with the media on Sunday night.

“I just wanted to make sure that it’s very clear: Our expectation is to win championships here at Auburn. It’s been that way since I’ve been here. We’re not happy with a six-win season,” Malzahn said. “But under the circumstances of being an inexperienced team, having a couple injuries, not having a nonconference schedule – which, in the past, we’ve been very good in nonconference. But make no mistake, our goal is to win championships. ”

Malzahn is 67-35 at Auburn, and in a metric that matters most to a lot of Auburn fans, Auburn is 3-5 against Alabama under Malzahn. The Tigers take on Mississippi State this week under the lights at Davis Wade Stadium.