Gus Malzahn has message for Auburn fans as disappointing season winds down

Auburn (5-4) needs a victory in the regular-season finale to avoid its 1st non-winning campaign under Gus Malzahn. The Tigers’ latest loss came on Saturday–a 31-20 defeat at Jordan-Hare Stadium–which came on the heels of a 42-13 Iron Bowl loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 28, its 2nd-worst defeat to the Crimson Tide in the Malzahn era.

And in what has become an annual tradition, fans are calling for the dismissal of the 8th-year head coach despite a buyout of $21 million. Remarks he made following the loss to the Aggies on Saturday construed as him being satisfied with the Tigers’ record thus far received blowback on social media.

If you ask Malzahn, though, despite the latest requests for his firing, he has every intention of being back on the Plains next year.

“I’m excited about the future. I’m excited about next year,” Malzahn said on Sunday. “When we’ve had experienced teams, those are the years we’ve won championships. That’s what I’m excited about.

The Tigers do lose their share of players in the offseason to graduation and draft declarations, but with an important group of players set to return, the hope is that the team can finally meet expectations and become a factor in the College Football Playoff race.

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.