Cadillac Williams shares what he will take away from his time as interim head coach

The last four weeks of the 2022 season were a dream for Auburn interim head coach Carnell ‘Cadillac’ Williams. The former Tigers running back made history as the first Black coach in Iron Bowl history and went 2-2 in his run as the head man.

But more than any other aspect of the job, the part Williams will keep with him forever is getting to stand in front of the Auburn players and tell them he was proud.

“But to see over four weeks, these guys have turned that around. Guys are in class. Treating people with respect …” Williams said. “Like to hear the academic people come and say ‘They’re like different kids.’ That has been the best part of all of this, to be honest with you. To be able to walk in front of those kids and be able to tell them kids, like, ‘How proud I am of you.'”

Giving everything he can to those players was simply reciprocal for Williams.

He recalled the coaches who believed in him as a Pee Wee player. As a middle schooler. As a high schooler. He stood at the podium and remembered what it meant to him to have those men show him he could do something special.

“I think it’s pretty cool that I get an opportunity to share this with them. We still text, talk,” Williams said. “Like I think that’s the coolest thing, too. Have them many, many years ago just be genuine. Just be nice to me. Plant that seed that I can do something cool in life. And to see it two decades later, to see me on this stage, man we can’t stop texting and talking about it. So, regardless of what goes on, I have been blessed. I have been blessed by Auburn, I have been blessed by the Auburn family.” 

Williams learned another lesson, too.

“And second is just, the one thing that I took away from this whole ordeal is you can be different and do this and be successful,” he said. “You can serve. You know, can go about it where you make it about the kids. Make it about truly changing lives.