Marc RaimondiSep 22, 2025, 06:55 PM ET
- Marc Raimondi's first year covering the Falcons was 2024, but it wasn't his first year at ESPN. He joined the company in 2019 and was a top combat sports reporter. He also covered professional wrestling and wrote the book "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. Raimondi also worked for the New York Post and Newsday, beginning in 2009, covering high school and college sports, plus the NFL, NFL, MLB and NHL.
The Atlanta Falcons announced that they fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard on Monday, one day after being routed by their NFC South rivals, the Carolina Panthers.
Offensive passing game coordinator T.J. Yates will assume Hilliard's duties.
The Panthers blew out the Falcons 30-0 on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was Carolina's largest margin of victory in a decade.
The Falcons' offense sputtered in the disastrous performance, never reaching the red zone. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had the worst game of his young career, throwing two interceptions, including a backbreaking pick-six.
Penix has not thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver or tight end this season. His lone touchdown pass was to running back Bijan Robinson on a checkdown that Robinson took 50 yards in Week 1. Atlanta has just one touchdown over its past eight quarters.
Hilliard, 49, was in his second season with the Falcons. He previously was the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington and Buffalo Bills.
Yates, 38, has been with the Falcons since 2021. A former NFL quarterback, he was the team's wide receivers coach in 2022 and 2023 before becoming quarterbacks coach last season.
