Why Chicago Bears hiring Ike Hilliard as wide receivers coach makes sense
The Chicago Bears are interviewing Ike Hilliard for the open wide receivers coach job. He is currently the Auburn wide receivers coach. What does his resume look like, and why would this make sense for the Bears?
Chicago Bears plan to interview Ike Hilliard for wide receiver coach job
Hilliard had a long playing career in the NFL. He was drafted by the New York Giants and played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well. In total, he played from 1997 through the 2008 season. Having an NFL wide receiver as the receivers coach could not be a bad thing.
In 2009, he was hired as a wide receivers coach for the Florida Tuskers, a UFL team. In 2011, he worked his way into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins as an assistant wide receivers coach.
In 2012, he was hired by Washington and worked as a receivers coach under Kyle Shanahan. It was the best year of Pierre Garcon's career. In 2013, he moved to the Buffalo Bills wide receiver coach before jumping back to Washington in 2014.
This time, Jay Gruden was the head coach, but Sean McVay was the offensive coordinator. So, Hilliard spent time with McVay and Shanahan. In 2016, Shane Waldron was hired to the Washington coaching staff, so Hiliard and Waldron spent one year coaching together.
McVay moved on in 2017, but Hilliard stayed through the 2019 season. In 2020, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he spent two years. The Steelers drafted George Pickens during that time. Lastly, he was with the Auburn Tigers.
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Overall, Hilliard is a former receiver; he has been in the rooms that drafted talented wideouts, and he has had career years with Hilliard. He not only wired with Shanahan and McVay, something the Chicago Bears obviously want, but he also worked with new OC Shane Waldron. The fit makes plenty of sense.