Gus Malzahn

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn during spring practice Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

In a Wall Street Journal report published Monday, Gus Malzahn reiterated his desire to be more hands-on with Auburn's play-calling and scheming this fall as he enters his fourth season on the Plains.

"One thing that really hit me pretty hard is that I got to be more active with the daily X's and O's and coaching that goes with that," Malzahn said. "At the end of the day, I'm a football coach. That's what I look at as my strength."

Malzahn made a similar statement to ESPN this spring, claiming he felt more like a "CEO" than a football coach in 2015.

The following month he said being a head coach in the SEC means having to deal with "a lot of moving parts." He said he faced "numerous" distractions last fall, but would not expand on them. The Tigers entered the season ranked No. 6 nationally only to stumble to a 7-6 finish.

"Coach Malzahn is a lot more involved and he said he was going to be more involved," former Auburn head coach Pat Dye said last week. "Everything he said has been just right down the line with his plan."

Auburn faces a massive challenge this Saturday at 8 p.m. when is hosts No. 2 Clemson inside Jordan-Hare Stadium to open the 2016 campaign.

Read the full story at WSJ.com.