Ike Hilliard, Fired by Falcons' Raheem Morris, Finds New Home

Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Ike Hilliard has officially found a new home. Reports surfaced a few days ago that he had signed on with the California Golden Bears, but the team made the news official on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the best bringing his talents to Berkeley 💯#GoBears pic.twitter.com/xIhCmrU9Iu
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) January 3, 2026

He will join the program’s new head coach, Tosh Lupoi, as the Golden Bears’ co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He will serve alongside Jordan Somerville, who is the other co-offensive coordinator for Cal.

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Hilliard, 49, spent 12 seasons in the NFL as a wide receivers coach, including the last two in Atlanta with the Falcons. He came to Atlanta with then-head coach Raheem Morris, but was unceremoniously fired after a disastrous Week 3 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Passing game coordinator T.J. Yates assumed his duties and held the position through to the end of the 2025 season.

“I want a different direction,” Morris said after deciding to move on from Hilliard. “I wanted to handle those things the right way. I wanted to be able to go in that room and present to those guys the right way to get things that we want to get done.”

Hilliard joined the staff from Auburn (his only other stint in college), where he served as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2022. Before that, he spent 10 seasons in the NFL, with stops with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Commanders, and Buffalo Bills.

In his first season with the team in 2024, Hilliard helped guide Drake London to his best season as a pro, with career highs in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,271), and receiving touchdowns (nine). London joined Roddy White (2010) and Terance Mathis (1994) as the third player in franchise history to record 100 receptions, 1,200 yards, and nine touchdowns in a single season.

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Additionally, Hilliard coached 2024 free agent acquisitions Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud III to some of their best seasons in the NFL. Mooney just missed his second career 1,000-yard season after missing his final regular-season game, but set a career high in touchdowns (five) and average yards per reception (15.5). McCloud set career highs in receptions (87) and yards (686) as the team’s third receiver.

McCloud, who was notably very close to Hilliard, had some off-field issues come about after the termination in Week 3. Morris denied any relationship between those issues and Hilliard’s firing. They later released him in October.