Former Florida WR, Auburn assistant Ike Hilliard fired by Atlanta Falcons
By Luke Greco
Published:
Ike Hilliard is looking for a new opportunity. The Atlanta Falcons dismissed Hilliard from his post as wide receivers coach after the team’s Week 3 loss.
Hilliard took over as the wide receivers coach in 2024 when Raheem Morris became the Falcons’ new head coach. Falcons passing game coordinator T.J. Yates is expected to take over the wide receiver room. He was the wide receiver coach before Hilliard in the 2022-2023 season.
Last season, Hilliard’s receiving room had major success. Wide receiver Drake London set career highs in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,271), and receiving touchdowns (9). Wide receiver Darnell Mooney was 8 yards away from breaking the 1,000-yard receiving mark, and McCloud had career highs in receptions (62) and receiving yards (686).
This season, the trend did not continue. London only has 16 receptions for 159 yards. Mooney has 6 receptions for 64 yards, and McCloud has 5 catches for 71 yards. No wide receiver has caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Penix Jr., and the Falcons have only scored 1 touchdown in their past two games.
Before joining the Falcons, Hilliard was the co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach for Auburn in 2022. Before his time with Auburn, Hilliard was the wide receivers coach for a number of NFL teams. He worked for the Buffalo Bills in 2013, the Washington Commanders in 2012 and from 2014 to 2019, and with the Steelers from 2020 to 2021.
Hilliard is a former Florida wide receiver. He played for the Gators from 1994 to 1996. During his college career, Hilliard recorded 126 receptions for 2,214 yards and 26 touchdowns. In 1996, Hilliard earned first-team All-SEC and was a consensus All-American. He helped lead the Gators to a national title that same year. Hilliard was then selected by the New York Giants 7th overall in the 1997 NFL draft. Hilliard played 12 seasons in the NFL, 8 with the New York Giants and 4 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 161 career NFL games, Hilliard totaled 546 receptions for 6,397 yards and 35 touchdowns.
We have released from staff wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 22, 2025
Current passing game coordinator T.J. Yates will assume those duties pic.twitter.com/YcBp3XLIXv
