The situation for coach Gus Malzahn has gotten more intense in recent weeks, as many thought he might be fired after going 7-5 during the regular season.

However, he’s still around, but there is plenty of turmoil on The Plains these days, with former Auburn coaches Gene Chizik and Tommy Tuberville jumping to Malzahn’s defense.

Last week, Chizik said Malzahn has an uphill battle ahead of him, and Tuberville went on 105.5 WNSP on Wednesday and added to that, saying Auburn’s a tough job because people who don’t know about football have a lot of power (via AL.com):

“Gene’s been there,” Tuberville explained. “I’ve been there. It’s just a tough situation. Gus has been there six years now and done an admirable job. He went to the dang finals and lost to Florida State. It’s been up and down where everybody wants consistency. Unfortunately at Auburn, you have a lot of people who stick their nose in who know nothing about football. That’s basically what he is saying.”

Chizik had said that Alabama has a lot of impact on Auburn, as Auburn boosters want the same title pedigree that the Crimson Tide are currently enjoying:

“The people at Auburn have a knee jerk reaction or at least in the past they have, because of what’s going on across the state,” Chizik said on Friday. “And it’s never gonna change.”

All Malzahn can do is win, and we’ll see if he does that in 2019. But first, he can make a good impression on fans with a win in the Music City Bowl.