Ex-Bill O’Brien assistant weighs in on talk of DeAndre Hopkins going to Patriots

Oct 24, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) against the Houston Texans at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots have a glaring need for a top wide receiver, and many have speculated that they will target DeAndre Hopkins in a potential trade. The big question is whether Hopkins and Bill O’Brien could coexist, and one of the coach’s former assistants believes it is possible.

O’Brien recently got his old job back as offensive coordinator with the Patriots. He and Hopkins have a history together from when O’Brien was the head coach of the Houston Texans. Hopkins forced a trade during the 2020 offseason and openly admitted that his poor relationship with O’Brien was one of the factors in him wanting out of Houston.

There was one story that O’Brien compared Hopkins to Aaron Hernandez, which is when things supposedly really started to go south.

Hopkins and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick have great mutual respect for one another, but would the five-time Pro Bowl receiver be willing to work with O’Brien again? John Perry, O’Brien’s longtime friend and former Texans offensive assistant, told Mark Daniels of MLive.com that he believes the parties could make it work.

“I think adult relationships are always complicated no matter what you do. But the thing is when you look at DeAndre Hopkins and his relationship with Coach O’Brien, both of them brought out the best in each other,” Perry said. “I still have a strong relationship with coach (O’Brien) and with DeAndre. He and I speak all the time.”

Perry added that O’Brien and Hopkins are both great competitors who share a common goal — winning. Perry said the relationship between O’Brien and Hopkins is probably not all that different from the one O’Brien had with Tom Brady during O’Brien’s first stint in New England. Keep in mind that Brady and some of his teammates had a very clever nickname for O’Brien because of the coach’s temper.

There is no guarantee that the Patriots would want to trade for Hopkins, but he could certainly help Mac Jones and company. While most people doubt that Hopkins would want to be coached by O’Brien again, perhaps Belichick can successfully play the role of mediator.