The ascension of Carnell “Cadillac” Williams to the role of interim head coach at Auburn automatically puts him near the top of one short but enviable list.

It might only be for a few games, but Williams is one of the few all-time great college football players who have gone on to become head coach at their alma mater. There are a number of active coaches who also played at their current schools, though many were marginal at best players.

So where does Williams rank and who is on top? Here’s one man’s ranking:

12. Mario Cristobal, Miami

Cristobal was a member of two national championship teams with the Hurricanes (1989 and 1991) and was a first-team All-Big East offensive tackle as a senior in 1992, when Miami lost to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. After stints as head coach at Florida International and Oregon and as an assistant at Alabama, he took over this season at his alma mater, where he is 4-4 heading into Saturday’s rivalry game with Florida State.

11. Mike Neu, Ball State

Neu started four seasons (1990-93) at quarterback for the Cardinals, passing for 6,271 yards and 43 touchdowns. As a senior in 1993, he was Mid-American Conference MVP for a Ball State team that went 8-3-1 and won the league title. Neu was an assistant in college and the pros before taking over the Cardinals as head coach in 2016. He is 33-45 in seven seasons in Muncie, but went 7-1 and won the MAC championship in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

10. Shawn Clark, Appalachian State

Clark was a four-year starter on the offensive line for the Mountaineers from 1995-98, twice earning FCS All-America honors and three times earning first-team All-Southern Conference. During his five-year career (including a redshirt year), Appalachian State went 45-16 and reached the NCAA FCS playoffs three times. After four years as offensive line coach, he took over as Mountaineers head coach in 2020. His ASU teams are 25-11 with a division championship and bowl berths in each of his first two seasons.

9. Kirby Smart, Georgia

The son of a top high school coach, Smart joined the football team at Georgia as a walk-on in 1995. By the time he finished his career in 1998, he was an All-SEC safety and ranked fourth on the Bulldogs’ all-time list with 13 interceptions. Smart was an assistant under Nick Saban and LSU, with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and at Alabama, where he helped build national championship defenses in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015. He got his first head-coaching gig at his alma mater in 2016, and is 74-15 with an SEC title in 2017 and a national championship in 2021.

8. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

After a successful high school career in the Los Angeles area, Smith walked on at Oregon State in 1998. He became the school’s all-time leading passer with 9,860 yards and 55 touchdowns, and led the Beavers to an 11-1 record and a share of the Pac-10 championship 2000. After stints as a quarterbacks coach and/or offensive coordinator at several West Coast programs, he was hired at his alma mater in 2018. His first three teams finished with losing records, but Smith’s Beavers are 13-8 since the beginning of the 2021 season.

7. Tim Lester, Western Michigan

Lester was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Broncos from 1996-99, finishing his career with 11,299 yards and 87 touchdowns. His yardage total was in the Top 5 in NCAA FBS history at that point, and remains in the Top 70 all-time. Lester coached on the Division II and Division III levels and was a quarterbacks coach at Syracuse and Purdue before being hired at Western Michigan in 2017. He is 35-31 in six seasons at his alma mater, with three bowl berths.

6. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Though he had the benefit of playing with future Hall-of-Fame running backs Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders, Gundy was a productive player in his own right as the Cowboys’ quarterback from 1986-89. He finished his career with 7,997 yards and 54 touchdowns passing, and also ran for nine scores for Oklahoma State teams that posted 10 wins in both 1987 and 1988. A long-time assistant at his alma mater before being appointed as head coach in 2005, Gundy has a record of 155-71, with seven double-digit win seasons and 11 bowl victories.

5. Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin

A walk-on with the Badgers in 2001, Leonhard developed in a three-time All-Big Ten safety and a three-time All-American. He totaled a school-record 21 interceptions and finished his career as the Big Ten’s all-time leader in punt return yardage. After a 10-year NFL career with six different teams, Leonhard joined the Wisconsin staff as defensive backs coach in 2016 and was elevated to defensive coordinator the following season. He took over as interim coach when Paul Chryst was fired in early October, and is 2-1 through his first three games.

4. Carnell Williams, Auburn

One of the most highly-recruited players in the history of the state of Alabama, “Cadillac” signed with Auburn in 2001 and was an impact player for the Tigers the next four seasons despite battling various injuries. Williams rushed for 3,831 yards and set school records for carries (741) and touchdowns (45), as Auburn went 3-1 in the Iron Bowl during his career. A key player on the Tigers’ 13-0 SEC championship team in 2004, Williams spent seven injury-plagued seasons in the NFL before going into coaching. Hired as running backs coach at his alma mater in 2019, he was installed as interim coach when Bryan Harsin was fired earlier this week. Williams will make his head-coaching debut on Saturday at Mississippi State.

3. Timmy Chang, Hawaii

One of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history, Chang started 50 games for the Warriors from 2000-04 and set numerous school and NCAA records. A four-time All-WAC selection, Chang passed for 17,072 yards and 117 touchdowns during his Hawaii career. The yardage total was an NCAA record at the time, but has since been surpassed by Houston’s Case Keenum. After a brief career in the CFL and several stops on the mainland as an assistant coach, Chang returned to the islands as head coach in 2022. The Warriors are 2-7 in his debut season.

2. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

The son of longtime college assistant and head coach Jack Harbaugh, Jim signed with Michigan out of Palo Alto (Calif.) High School in 1982. A part-time starter as a redshirt sophomore in 1984 and the Wolverines’ starter for two seasons after that, Harbaugh passed for 5,449 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career. As a senior in 1986, he finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting (behind Miami’s Vinny Testaverde and Temple’s Paul Palmer) as Michigan went 11-2, won the Big Ten championship and reached the Rose Bowl. A first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987, he played 14 seasons with six teams before going into coaching in 2002. He was head coach at San Diego and Stanford, then jumped to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. He made it to the Super Bowl with the 49ers in his second season, then returned to college at his alma mater in 2015. The Wolverines are 69-24 in his eight seasons, including a Big Ten championship and playoff berth in 2021 and an 8-0 mark this year.

1. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

More than any on this list, Fitzgerald can make the case that he’s the greatest player AND greatest coach in his alma mater’s history. A three-year starter at linebacker for the Wildcats from 1994-96, he was twice a consensus All-American, twice Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, twice winner of both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award as the country’s top defensive player. In his junior season of 1995, Northwestern shocked the college football world by going 10-2 and playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 47 years. After a brief foray into pro football, he went into coaching 1998. Hired as an assistant at Northwestern in 2001, he was elevated to head coach following the sudden death of Randy Walker during the summer of 2006. In 17 seasons, his Wildcats have won 110 games (a school record for any coach) and a pair of Big Ten West Division championships and have won five bowl games. Fitzgerald was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2008.

Honorable mention: Andy Avalos, Boise State; Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana; Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois; Mickey Joseph, Nebraska; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; Kilani Sitake, BYU

Creg Stephenson is a sports writer for AL.com. He has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.