Manor ISD has hired Humble High School associate head coach and offensive coordinator Peter Hopkins as the new head football coach and athletic coordinator at Manor High School.

Hopkins is a first-time head coach, but he has vast experience as both a player and assistant coach. The Crockett High School graduate played quarterback at Tyler Junior College from 2006-07 before transferring to Sam Houston as a tight end from 2007-08. 

As a coach, Hopkins has held multiple positions in both the college and high school ranks. He began his career as a running backs coach at Tyler Junior College before becoming a graduate assistant at Louisiana Tech. After stops at Klein Oak, La Marque, and Aldine Davis, Hopkins rejoined the college ranks as Kilgore College’s offensive coordinator, where he coached 16 All-Americans in three years.

Most recently, he was the running backs coach at Louisiana Tech, and then spent two years at Humble High School. 

“Going JUCO as a student-athlete and coach, as well as playing and coaching in Division I, these kids can look at someone that’s here to serve them,” Hopkins said. “They can say, ‘If he was able to take the stairs and go the long way, and is now guiding us and leading us, I’m sure I can do it as well.’”

Manor reassigned previous head coach James Keller this past December after an 0-10 season. But Hopkins has a deep history with the school and knows this past season was not the norm.

“Growing up in Crockett, Texas, we always played Manor in football and basketball,” Hopkins said. “It’s always been hard competition and great players over there. I understand that they still have that type of fabric in their community. Now we’ve just got to thread it back together and get Manor back to what it used to be.”

Hopkins said Manor ISD’s administration sets him up for success. Manor ISD Athletic Director Carlesa Dixon, who was hired in January, was Hopkins’s previous AD at Humble High School.

Hopkins must hit the ground running with UIL Realignment on Monday, as Manor is moving down from Class 6A to Class 5A DI. But he said the first priority is scheduling home visits with every athlete in the program so “the kids meet Peter Hopkins before they meet Coach Hopkins.”

“Our coaches are going to teach the heart of a person before they coach a part of a person. So we want to get in these parents’ homes and let them know that we’re going to love their kids. We’ll be very demanding, but we’ll never be demeaning. We’ll love them up.”