For all the momentum the Atlanta Falcons had built with a Week 2 domination of the Minnesota Vikings, they turned around and lit it on fire with their Week 3 performance against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers humiliated the Falcons in a 30-0 loss on Sunday afternoon and naturally, fans wanted someone to blame.
Head coach Raheem Morris made sure that Michael Penix Jr. wouldn’t take the blame after he was removed from the game in favor of Kirk Cousins in the second half. But that didn’t mean that everyone would get off easy.,
In the end, the fall guy was wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard who was fired on Monday night according to Falcons team reporter Tori McElhaney.
Raheem Morris Fires Coach He Brought to Atlanta After Week 3 Loss to Panthers
Hilliard has been with the Falcons since 2024 when Morris brought him to Atlanta after he was hired as the team’s head coach. The two had previously met when Morris was an assistant coach while Hillard was playing his final year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007 and reunited to work on the Washington Commanders staff for the 2012 and 2014 seasons.
The 49-year-old stayed in Washington through the 2019 season and served in the same role with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2020-21) and Auburn Tigers (2022) in recent years. But the Falcons have experienced mixed results since Morris brought him to Atlanta.
The Falcons saw several receivers break out in Hillard’s first year with the team including Drake London, who had career-highs with 100 receptions, 1,271 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Darnell Mooney and Ray Ray McCloud also had career seasons after signing with Atlanta in free agency, but nobody has been able to match that success in 2025.
London has 16 catches for 159 yards and no touchdowns through three games while Mooney has just six catches for 64 yards and McCloud has five catches for 71 yards.
McElhaney also noted that no receiver or tight end has caught a touchdown pass from Penix in the first three games, which may have also done Hilliard in. While it’s three games into the season, the Falcons have already stumbled out of the gate and could fall into a deeper hole if they drop Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders.
That’s enough for Morris to make drastic changes early in the year and more could be on the way if the Falcons get embarrassed in the same way the Panthers embarrassed them last week.