Falcons’ Raheem Morris contends Ike Hilliard’s firing was ‘performance based’
FLOWERY BRANCH — Raheem Morris was a young assistant defensive backs coach with the Bucs in 2005 when wide receiver Ike Hilliard was playing out his 12-year career.
On Monday, Morris fired Hilliard, who was the Falcons wide receivers coach.
“Performance based, just like everything in this business, that you want to make those decisions on,” Morris said Wednesday. “We’re going in a different direction. Going in that direction, moving T.Y. (pass-game coordinator T.J. Yates) into that (meeting) room doing some of the things to get done in there as far as the detail.”
Morris was the Bucs’ assistant defensive backs coach in 2005. He was the defensive coordinator at Kansas in 2006 before returning to the Bucs as the defensive back coach in 2007-08. Hilliard, a former star at Florida under legendary coach Steve Spurrier, played with the Bucs from 2005-08.
Hilliard reunited with Morris when he got the Falcons’ head coaching position in 2024 as Hilliard was named the wide receivers coach, a position that Morris held with the Falcons on Dan Quinn’s staff.
“Tough decisions,” Morris said. “People business. Hard for me. Hard for the organization. Hard on Ike’s family. It was a decision I felt I need to make at this time, and we did.”
Three wide receivers — Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud — had career seasons in 2024 under the tutelage of Hilliard. The wide receivers performed well in training camp as David Sills V made a strong roster bid along with Chris Blair and Nick Nash. Sills is on the roster. Blair and Nash are on the practice squad.
The Falcons have not scored a touchdown by a receiver this season, in which they’ve switched to Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback. London had a fumble against Minnesota, and Mooney, who’s coming back from a shoulder injury, has two drops. Casey Washington, who was one of the stars of training camp, opened the season as a starter for Mooney, but suffered a concussion late against the Bucs and has missed the past two games.
“It was obviously tough, the relationship … the depth of the relationship,” Morris said. “Who the man is, the character. Obviously, tough with the success we were able to have at the receiver position, particularly on offense. All of those different things factored in. You’ve got to make those decisions when they come up. All of those decisions are always hard. They are never easy.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
