The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired former Redskins wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard for the same position, the team announced Tuesday.
Hilliard, 43, spent the last six seasons with the Redskins, but was not retained after the team hired coach Ron Rivera in January. Now with the Steelers, Hilliard will be responsible for helping get the most out of a wide receiving corps that struggled in 2019 without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing them the ball for most of the season.
Hilliard was praised for his work with the Redskins last season as rookies Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon and Steven Sims all blossomed as the year went on. McLaurin led the team with 919 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Last year, James Washington led the Steelers in receiving yard with just 735. JuJu Smith-Schuster had an extremely disappointing year, finishing with a career-low 552 yards after catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards in 2018.
Without Roethlisberger, who missed 14 games with an elbow injury, the Steelers struggled to have a productive passing attack with Mason Ruldoph and Delvin Hodges at quarterback.
Hilliard has also coached with the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. Prior to his coaching career, he played in the NFL for 12 years as a wideout for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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