Carnell “Cadillac” Williams’ four games as the interim head coach at Auburn showed him something that he is applying as the running-backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I think that whole experience of being in that role, it made me realize the impact you can have on men, that you can have on people,” Williams said on Wednesday. “I just know whenever you align and you’re serving people and you’re doing it for each other and you’re being selfless, guys’ll buy in and guys’ll follow and magic will happen. I think that’s the biggest thing I learned from me playing in that role is, you know, just care for people. And also be that example and just not talk about it.”
A former Auburn standout, Williams went from running-backs coach to interim head coach for the final four games of the Tigers’ 2022 season when Bryan Harsin was fired. Williams’ work in that role reinforced his confidence in his approach, and that attitude has found a fit on the staff of Raiders coach Antonio Pierce.
“Just starting from knee-high with my mom, the way she raised me,” Williams said of his outlook. “I’m just a firm believer. If you can pour into others and you can make others better, you have favor on your life, so it’s easy for me.
“Like Coach AP always tells us coaches and everybody: Check your ego at the door. It’s not about your status, your money, what you done did. None of that matters. We’re in here to pour into these men, we’re in here to pour into people and we’re in here to do good for this organization and make this community proud.”
Auburn fired Harsin in his second season with the Tigers at 3-5 and on a four-game losing streak. Auburn lost Williams’ opener as the interim coach to Mississippi State 39-33 in overtime before Auburn defeated Texas A&M 13-10 and Western Kentucky 41-17. The Tigers’ season ended with a 49-27 loss to Alabama.
Auburn chose Liberty coach Hugh Freeze to lead the program instead of Williams after the 2022 season. Williams returned to coaching running backs and was named the associate head coach for the 2023 season. Williams resigned at the end of last season.
Pierce moved from linebackers coach to interim head coach in 2023 for the Raiders when Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels at 3-5. The Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce, and the interim tag was taken off his position for 2024.
Pierce wasn’t following the Auburn situation closely when he put together his first staff, and that almost kept him from adding Williams. Pierce’s nine seasons as an NFL linebacker and Williams’ seven seasons as an NFL running back overlapped for five years.
“We played against Cadillac when he was a rookie,” Pierce said on Thursday. “Played him several times throughout his career. When I was the head coach at (Long Beach) Poly, we did an NFLPA game together. We were on the same staff. Saw him work there. I think it was 2013 or ‘14.
“And then just watching college football, saw what happened at Auburn and, to be honest, thought he was still there on staff. And then, obviously, we was looking at different coaches at that position and kind of got a text from somebody, like, ‘Hey, did you think about Cadillac?’ I was like, ‘He’s coaching at Auburn. He’s going to get the head-coach job.’ I remember something of that nature.
“We spoke on the phone, and this was a no-brainer for me, man. Like, he is a hard worker, he’s a grinder, he’s a gritty guy.”
Williams is in charge of a running-backs room that’s transitioning from Josh Jacobs. The former Alabama standout led the NFL in rushing for Las Vegas in 2022. A contract dispute and an injury reduced Jacobs’ production in 2023, but he still had more than twice as many rushing attempts as any other Raiders running back before departing in the offseason for the Green Bay Packers as a free agent.
Zamir White appears next in line for Las Vegas as the No. 1 running back. The former Georgia standout ran for 451 yards in his second NFL season in 2023. Alexander Mattison joined the Raiders after running for 700 yards for the Minnesota Vikings last season, Las Vegas used a sixth-round pick on New Hampshire running back Dylan Laube on April 27 and former Homewood High School star Ameer Abdullah re-signed in March for his 10th NFL season.
“I’m very excited,” Williams said. “Got a group of men that shows up each and every day and work their tail off. A selfless group. You got guys that can not only run the football, but catch, block, speed, quickness, everything that you want in that room. Got a lot of guys that bring those intangible things that you honestly can’t coach, so very excited about the room, about the potential in that room.”
The Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 5A Back of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and Alabama’s Mr. Football in 2000 at Etowah High School, Williams set Auburn’s career record for rushing touchdowns even though he played with other NFL-caliber running backs with the Tigers.
As the fifth pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Williams won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“That backfield he had out of Auburn — he had Brandon Jacobs as a freshman, Ronnie (Brown) and then Cadillac,” Pierce said. “… And those guys, I mean, they played the game the right way. I mean, they were physical, they were tough, love ball, gritty guys.
“And I thought really at that running-back room because that room is so unique now in the National Football League and how it’s being evaluated and the pay scale, that you need somebody in there that can really not just talk ball with them but talk off-the-field football with them and understanding what it is and the ups and downs of playing running back in National Football League.”
The Raiders concluded their offseason program last week. Las Vegas will hold its training camp for the first time in Costa Mesa, California, beginning next month.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
