New England Patriots
Hopkins had recently dipped his toe into coaching during Patriots training camp.
DeAndre Hopkins decided to enter the coaching world after his brief stop in Foxborough this past week. Norm Hall/Getty Images
DeAndre Hopkins accepted a football coaching position after gaining some experience during New England Patriots training camp this past week.
Hopkins joined Georgia Tech’s staff as an assistant wide receivers coach, the program announced on social media on Friday.
“DeAndre is one of the greatest receivers of all-time, but his value to our program goes far beyond that,” head coach David Key said. “He has an exceptional knowledge of what we’re doing on offense due to his long relationship with (offensive coordinator) George Godsey and strong familiarity with the ACC, but most importantly, he’s a leader of men that I’m very excited for our players to be around, on and off the field.”
Hopkins, 34, attended several Patriots training camp practices as he mulled whether to continue his playing career or go down a coaching path.
As of Thursday, Hopkins’s time in Foxborough had come to an end.
“Hop’s not here, but it was a great experience for all of us,” Mike Vrabel said. “I think that’s what we would try to do when you have some of these unique situations where a player, former player or whatever it may be wants to come in, help and learn, and they love football. So, I think it was good for everybody.”
The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, who played under Vrabel on the Tennessee Titans in 2023, received plenty of praise from New England players, including Drake Maye, who were awe-struck by Hopkins’s presence.
“Just having him be out here, share some information and just be a young adult and a great player in this league, a legendary player to play at a high level and share some information’s awesome,” Maye said of Hopkins on the first day of camp.
Fellow WR Romeo Doubs had good things to say about Hopkins, too.
“This is my first time seeing D-Hop in person,” Doubs said. “I know he’s been an amazing receiver in this league, so just to have his aura, his energy around is a huge help.”
Hopkins joins another Patriots connection at Georgia Tech. Defensive backs coach Vinnie Sunseri competed in Patriots training camp in 2016 and was briefly part of the practice squad. Sunseri went on to join New England in a support staff role under Bill Belichick in 2020 before being promoted to running backs coach, a role he held from 2021-23.
Hopkins and Sunseri won’t be traveling to New England during Georgia Tech’s regular season, but the program will host Boston College on Oct. 24.
Hopkins has not formally retired from playing in the NFL, but his hiring at least puts his cleats on the back burner.
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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