Looking around the SEC, it’s safe to say Gus Malzahn faces one of the toughest pressure-packed jobs in 2016, joining the likes of Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles and Butch Jones.

But don’t tell that to Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs, who gave Malzahn a major vote of confidence Wednesday at the SEC’s spring meetings, saying he’ll be there for a long time.

“He’s our coach and he’ll be our coach for a long, long time,” Jacobs told SEC Country’s Brandon Marcello Wednesday. “He’s a brilliant offensive mind, took us to two national championships: once as a coordinator, once as a head coach. There’s a bunch of schools in this league that would love to be in our position with a guy like him. That’s a tough league. This league is tough every day. It doesn’t matter what year it is — year in, year out, how many years you’ve been here or whatever it may be. There is no doubt about it: he’s the right guy for Auburn.”

No doubt he’s a brilliant offensive mind as Jacob says, but putting it all together has been difficult.

Auburn finished just 7-6 in 2015, and as the calendar flips to the 2016 season, Malzahn is under the gun. It’s simple: he’s going to have to win games to keep his job at Auburn. In a “what have you done for me lately” landscape in college football, several coaches could win big at Auburn, including Malzahn.

It’s wise for Jacobs to pause here, but let’s revisit this quote come November. Hopefully for Malzahn and company, Jacob’s quote is right on the money.