Paul Finebaum: 'Cadillac' Williams did something Bryan Harsin never could on Saturday

After losing 41-27 to Arkansas on Oct. 29, Auburn opted to fire head coach Bryan Harsin. The move was an anticipated one, and Carnell ‘Cadillac’ Williams took over as Auburn’s interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Williams made his head coaching debut on Saturday, and Auburn had a great effort in a 39-33 overtime loss at Mississippi State. SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum discussed that performance on Mac and Cube in the Morning on Monday, where he praised Williams for doing something that Bryan Harsin didn’t do all season long.

Finebaum doesn’t expect Williams to be a true player in Auburn’s coaching search, but he did think that Saturday’s showing said a lot.

“No,” Finebaum said when asked if Saturday did anything to improve Williams’ chances at Auburn’s full-time gig. “I give Carnell Williams a tremendous amount of credit for somebody who’s never been a head coach to lead a team into an environment like that and bring them back.

“He did something that Bryan Harsin hasn’t done throughout this season and that’s inspire them. And for that, he has helped himself tremendously depending on where his path goes. But no, I still think the coaching search is still at a significantly higher level than the interim head coach at Auburn.”

Williams previously addressed his interest in the full-time Auburn job

Even though Finebaum doesn’t expect Williams to be in play for Auburn’s permanent head coaching position, it’s impossible to predict how things will play out. With that in mind, Williams addressed his interest in becoming the Tigers’ next full head coach last week.

“Honestly, all I’m trying to do is win a football game this week and do my best for the players, the staff and the Auburn family. Honestly, I’m taking it one day at a time, sometimes literally one minute at a time,” Williams said on Wednesday. “I’m not focused on all the ‘what if.’”

Even if Williams was a candidate for the full-time gig, he wouldn’t be the lone person vying for the Auburn job. Some insiders expect the Tigers to make a run at some prominent names, including Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, Liberty coach Hugh Freeze, Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, and even Kentucky‘s Mark Stoops and Oregon‘s Dan Lanning.

Auburn has lost five games in a row, sitting at 3-6 overall and 1-5 against SEC opponents. The Tigers face Texas A&M at home on Saturday before hosting Western Kentucky the following week and rounding out the regular season at Alabama.