Mike Vrabel’s stays on-brand with latest DeAndre Hopkins update from New England Patriots Training Camp
Mike Vrabel and WR DeAndre Hopkins have worked together in Houston and Tennessee in the past. That connection was enough to bring DHop up to New England this summer to try out something new with his old coach.
DeAndre Hopkins is working with Mike Vrabel again.
The former Tennessee Titans wide receiver is working with the New England Patriots coaching staff as training camps open across the NFL, signaling what could be the end of his 11-year playing career and the beginning of a new chapter on the sideline.
Hopkins’ path from Tennessee to New England
Patriots coach Vrabel confirmed the news at his first press conference of the new season on Friday, saying Hopkins “has got coaching gear on and he is helping out the offensive coaches and meeting with our personnel guys.”
Hopkins has not made any official retirement announcement, but the fact that he showed up to the start of training camp in a coaching capacity tells you where things are trending.
For what it’s worth, this tracks with the Hopkins I got to know during his time in Tennessee. His love of the game, his football IQ, and his disposition make him a natural fit for coaching. He is one of the most prolific wide receivers of the past decade, and his knowledge of the game, particularly for skill position players, carries real value.
Hopkins bounced around the league after longer stints in Houston and Arizona during his playing days. The last time he spent more than two years with a single franchise was in Tennessee, where he played under Vrabel’s direction in 2023 and then briefly in 2024 as Brian Callahan took over as head coach and the Titans moved him midseason to the Kansas City Chiefs. Hopkins finished that season in Kansas City, then played a minor role with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025.
His best work as a Titan came in 2023. Hopkins cleared the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the final time in his career that season, finishing with 1,057 yards on 75 catches and 7 touchdowns. He was easily Tennessee’s No. 1 receiver in what was otherwise a lost season that ultimately led to Vrabel’s firing.
Vrabel’s latest familiar face
This is the latest in a long line of familiar hires for Vrabel, who has faced accusations of buddy hiring throughout his head coaching career. When he landed the Patriots job after a year away from coaching, he brought several former Titans staffers with him, including Todd Downing, whose tenure in Tennessee ended with a late-season DUI situation before he was dismissed. Vrabel also hired offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who coached him during his playing days in New England.
Former Titans defensive position coach Terrell Williams, who served as an assistant head coach under Vrabel in Tennessee, was named the defensive coordinator in New England before stepping away due to health issues last season. Williams is now back with the team as an assistant head coach but no longer holds the coordinator title. Other former Titans coaches on the Patriots staff include Tony Dews, Jason Houghtaling, and Charles London.
Hopkins is not listed on the Patriots’ coaching page in any official capacity as of now. Based on Vrabel’s comments, it sounds like he is doing some unofficial contracting work with the team and exploring the idea of coaching or scouting alongside a staff he already has familiarity with.
The transition makes sense for Hopkins. He gets to explore what life after playing looks like with a team that just played in the Super Bowl, under a head coach he built a relationship with here in Tennessee and in Houston before then. Good for Hop!