After five seasons back at his alma mater, Auburn associate head coach and running backs coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams is leaving The Plains, he announced Thursday evening.

“After taking time to pray and reflect, I have made the decision to resign from my position with Auburn football to pursue other opportunities,” Williams said in a statement Thursday night.

“I love Auburn, the players and AU family with all my heart, but this decision is what is best for me, my wife and sons. I am extremely grateful for the coaching opportunity given to me first by Coach Malzahn and most recently by Coach Freeze. These past five years on the Plains have been nothing short of incredible.”

Williams’ departure comes after spending one season under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze, who not only made it a point to retain Williams, but also promote Williams shortly after hired as the Tigers’ head coach.

Upon his arrival in late November of 2022, Freeze tacked on an “associate head coach” tag to go along with Williams’ role as running backs coach.

“I don’t know if I had to plead and beg, but I was planning to and just went after it,” said Freeze of keeping Williams on staff. “And I think the words were just, ‘You’re invaluable. I need your wisdom. I need you to tell me about the players. I need you to tell me about the building. I need you to tell me who is really vital to us getting this program back to SEC championships.’”

Freeze’s quick decision to keep Williams on board with an elevated role came after Williams led the Auburn program as the Tigers’ interim head coach in the four weeks immediately following the axing of former head coach Bryan Harsin.

Williams went on to go 2-2 in his interim run.

However, it was in that span that Auburn fans were gifted with the opportunity to watch Williams, a former Auburn player himself, lead a passionate resurrection of the program – albeit late in an underwhelming season.

Freeze was watching, too.

“What I witnessed, I thought, was one of the most outstanding jobs of leadership that I’ve ever witnessed in college football,” Freeze said during his introductory press conference.

“Being in this profession, I know how hard it is to finish seasons even when you’re doing well, even when you’re bowl eligible much less finishing a season playing with enthusiasm and passion and desire and excitement and having fun like what I witnessed when I turned on the Auburn football games. To me, it was a direct reflection of Cadillac and his leadership and how he led the staff and those young men. I thought it was a brilliant job.”

And it was that showing, paired with Williams’ longtime ties with the Auburn program, that left Freeze with no choice but to do whatever he needed to keep Williams aboard.

Williams committed to Auburn out of Etowah High School in Attalla, Ala.

And from 2001-04, Williams was a force in the Tigers’ backfield, going on to rush for more than 3,800 yards and 45 touchdowns – with rushing touchdown No. 44 breaking Bo Jackson’s program record for most rushing touchdowns.

With Williams having spent his college playing career at Auburn, which preceded a six-year career in the NFL, Freeze instantly recognized Williams as a huge asset both on the field and within the walls of the Tigers’ locker room.

“I think the word I would use is invaluable,” Freeze said of Williams during his introductory press conference. “I don’t know that I can describe it any more than that.”

But now that invaluable asset is gone as Williams looks toward other opportunities.

And as the word “invaluable” suggests, Freeze is going to be hard pressed to find someone to fill the Cadillac Williams-shaped hole in Auburn’s football program.

“We are incredibly appreciative of Carnell and what he’s done for the Auburn football program during his time on the coaching staff,” Freeze said in a statement Thursday night. “He led Auburn through a time of transition and is one of the program’s all-time greats. I know this wasn’t easy for him, but I respect his decision and wish him nothing but the best.”