DeAndre Hopkins on Bill O'Brien: 'Hopefully He Can Have Success Somewhere Else'

DeAndre Hopkins and Bill O'Brien may have had a messy divorce in Houston, but the Arizona Cardinals wideout isn't taking any public glee in his former coach's firing by the Texans.

"Hopefully, he can have success somewhere else," Hopkins told reporters Wednesday. 

The Texans fired O'Brien as coach and general manager Monday after an 0-4 start. O'Brien was one of the league's most embattled coaches coming into the 2020 season, with fans and players alike ripping his personnel moves over the last year.

Houston shockingly traded Hopkins and a fourth-round pick for a second-round selection, a 2021 fourth-rounder and David Johnson this offseason, a pittance for a perennial Pro Bowler.

In the aftermath of Hopkins' trade, his nonexistent relationship with his coach became public knowledge. 

"There was no relationship," Hopkins told Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop in April. "Make sure you put that in there. There's not a lot to speak about."

Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, who is close with Hopkins, said in March on ESPN's Get Up that O'Brien made several incendiary comments to his star wideout. According to Bishop, Hopkins told Irving that O'Brien expressed concern about Hopkins' friends and compared him to Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted for the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015.    

Irvin said O'Brien questioned Hopkins' character for having three children out of wedlock with different women. Hopkins did not deny the details Irvin shared in his interview with Bishop. He did say that his push to get out of Houston was at least in part rooted in his lack of relationship with O'Brien. 

"If I let the judgment of other people dictate the reality of my life, I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now," Hopkins said.

Hopkins' comments came not long after reports of friction between O'Brien and his players became public. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported O'Brien got into heated exchanges with J.J. Watt and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver in the weeks leading up to his dismissal. 

Hopkins, meanwhile, leads the NFL in receptions through the first four weeks of the season.