AD gives Malzahn a vote of confidence

Auburn athletic director Allen Greene on Tuesday said the Tigers' struggles on the field won't lead him to make a change at the top.

Gus Malzahn will return for the 2019 season.

"He's our coach for the future," Greene said Tuesday. "He'll be the coach next year. He's already proven that he can get through adversity."

The Tigers currently are 6-3 overall after engineering a thrilling, comeback win against Texas A&M last weekend. However, the team rushed for just 19 yards against the Aggies and struggled to create any semblance of offensive flow until a pair of harried-yet-successful drives late in the fourth quarter.

The team's offensive struggles — an area that is supposed to be Malzahn's speciality — has soured a large portion of the supporter base this fall. Greene acknowledged Tuesday that many supporters are disappointed, but he thinks that merely affirms their passion and high expectations for the storied program.

"You expect (Auburn) to be successful more than a normal team," Greene said. "When that doesn't happen, it's frustrating. We expect more. I know that we're young in some positions. He (Malzahn) is going to continue to be a really good coach here for us."

Malzahn is in the first year of a seven-season deal worth a total of $49 million. Auburn resumes play Saturday night at Georgia.