Carnell Williams describes the emotions of his first game as Auburn interim head coach

Saturday provided a surreal moment for Carnell “Cadillac” Williams as he led the Auburn football team onto the field against Mississippi State as the Tigers’ interim head coach. Speaking with ESPN’s Cole Cubelic pregame, Williams did his best to describe what the opportunity to lead his alma mater means to him.

“Wow,” he said. “Well, I’m the head coach here. In a million years, I would’ve never thought it. Get the opportunity to serve these young men and pour into their lives. That’s what it’s about. The Auburn family, these players. I’m freaking excited. We’re about to play some good football. Some good, hard-nosed Auburn football.”

A former Auburn running back from 2001-04, Williams returned to the program in 2019 as a running backs coach. When the Tigers fired coach Bryan Harsin on Monday, Williams was promoted to serve as interim head coach for the remaining four games. The move made him the first black head coach in the history of Auburn football.

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Auburn fans should have plenty of fond memories of Carnell Williams, who still ranks second in program history in rushing yards behind only Bo Jackson. The Tigers finished with a perfect 13-0 record in his senior season, claiming a Sugar Bowl victory against Virginia Tech.

Williams takes over for an Auburn team that Harsin led to a 3-5 record over the first eight games of this season. The Tigers are currently on a four-game winning streak and in desperate need of any sort of momentum to turn things around.

At the time of this writing, Auburn trailed 10-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. Williams will hope to turn things around over the next three quarters and give the Tigers some good news in a season that so far hasn’t given fans much to cheer about.