DeAndre Hopkins spent the last decade-plus torching NFL secondaries. Now he's drawing up routes on a whiteboard instead of running them. Adam Schefter broke the news Friday that the five-time All-Pro is joining Georgia Tech's staff as assistant wide receivers coach under Brent Key.
Five-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has joined Georgia Tech as assistant wide receivers coach, coach Brent Key announced Friday. https://t.co/QYKdYiCmwu
The move caps a wild offseason stretch for Hopkins. According to reporting from ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he actually visited the Patriots last week to gauge his NFL market before pivoting to college coaching instead. That's a notable detour — Hopkins was still catching passes in the league as recently as the 2025 season with the Ravens, so this isn't a guy who's been out of football for years trying to find his way back in.
For context on the resume: Hopkins finished his 13-year NFL career with 1,006 catches, 13,295 yards and 85 touchdowns across stops in Houston, Arizona, Tennessee, Kansas City and Baltimore. That's Hall of Fame-caliber production, and it's exactly why Georgia Tech landing him as a position coach is a genuine coup for a Yellow Jackets program trying to build receiver room credibility in the ACC.
Key didn't undersell the hire either, calling Hopkins one of the greatest receivers of all time and pointing to his existing relationship with offensive coordinator George Godsey plus his familiarity with the conference as reasons the fit makes sense. Godsey coached Hopkins at various NFL stops, so this isn't a cold hire — there's real history there.
The wildest part might be that Hopkins insists this isn't a retirement announcement. He's told reporters he's not closing the door on playing again, which means Georgia Tech could end up as a very well-credentialed pit stop rather than the permanent next chapter. Either way, a receiver room getting coached by a guy who just balled out against NFL DBs a year ago is about as good as it gets at the college level.