Steelers tab Ike Hilliard as wide receivers coach
Experience got the nod Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers hired their wide receivers coach.
Former New York Giants wide receiver Ike Hilliard, who spent the past six seasons as an assistant with the Washington Redskins, was the latest addition to coach Mike Tomlin’s staff.
Hilliard replaces Ray Sherman, who came out of retirement to serve as interim wide receivers coach following the death of Darryl Drake in training camp.
The Steelers also reportedly interviewed former South Carolina offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon and former Steelers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who was with the Carolina Panthers, for the position. McClendon, though, never has coached above the college ranks and Cotchery was playing as recently as 2015.
The other offseason addition for the Steelers was quarterbacks coach Matt Canada.
Hilliard, 43, will be entering his 10th season as an NFL assistant. He spent one year each in Miami, Washington and Buffalo before rejoining the Redskins for the 2014 season when he was hired by Jay Gruden. Hilliard was not retained by the Redskins after Ron Rivera was hired as head coach this offseason.
Last season, Hilliard coached Terry McLaurin, who emerged as one of the NFL’s top rookie wide receivers. McLaurin led the Redskins with 58 catches for 919 yards and seven touchdowns.
That experience should come in handy with his new team.
With the Steelers, Hilliard will be tasked with developing a young group of wide receivers led by JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is entering his fourth season. James Washington is entering his third season, and Diontae Johnson is coming off a rookie season in which he led the team with 59 catches and five touchdowns.
Among the other players Hilliard coached in Washington were Jamison Crowder, Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson.
Hilliard was a first-round draft pick of the Giants in 1997 and spent eight seasons in New York and the final four of his 12-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hilliard retired after the 2008 season with 546 catches for 6,397 yards and 35 touchdowns.
In 2018, Hilliard fulfilled a promise to his late mother by completing his college education and receiving a degree in criminal justice from Florida where he starred as a wide receiver in the mid-90s.
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Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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