Cadillac Williams reflects on achieving his dream of becoming a head coach

It was a brief run, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams turn as the interim Auburn head coach. But it’s also one he’ll never forget.

From representing the school he so clearly loves to making history as the first ever Black head coach in the Iron Bowl, Williams is going to cherish the experience of coaching his alma mater — a chance most Black players don’t get — forever.

“Means a lot. Um,” he said, pausing for a long time, “grew up always wanting to play this game. Dreamed about it. Visualized. Spoke it into existence. Been doing some research and this is Google now — if Google’s wrong, then talk to Google — Auburn-Alabama been playing since 1893. That’s Google. And I shared with my players last night, to be the first African-American to coach in this game. To be like, the head coach. It almost broke me down last night. And honestly, I didn’t really think much about it, to be honest with you. But, it definitely was special. Special because we, we don’t dream about being the head coach, to be honest with you.”

Williams went 2-2 as the interim, leading an often listless Tigers team to a few wins that most hadn’t predicted.

And though he was passed over for the full-time gig, Williams knows even his short stint in the big chair on the The Plains is a step in the right direction for a lot of people who will try to follow in his footsteps.

“And you know, for people after me, before me, striving to do these things, a lot of things in life if you can see it, you can strive for it,” Williams said. “You just gotta believe in yourself. Pretty cool. I’m very thankful and honored for that. Can’t nobody take that away from me. No matter what goes — nobody.”