Gus Malzahn affirmed his commitment to Auburn on Saturday, but refrained from completely shutting down the petulant Arkansas rumors.

"I wanna be the head coach at Auburn," Mazlahn told reporters after his Tigers were squashed in the SEC championship game by Georgia.

When asked if his response meant he will indeed be at Auburn next season, Malzahn replied: "I wanna be."

Malzahn has been the subject of Arkansas murmurs for days. The 52-year-old grew up in the state, played at Arkansas in the 1980s, and got his first job as a head coach at Arkansas State.

"I'm happy here at Auburn," Malzhan said. "We got great players, I love my players ... I think the best has yet to come."

Malzahn has seen his stock fluctuate over his five years with the Tigers. He entered the 2017 campaign thought to be on the hot seat, but a division title and win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl silenced his critics - at least for now.