Elliott moves quickly to fill opening at LBs coach, hiring FCS veteran Mike Adams

Virginia football coach Tony Elliott reached back to his days at South Carolina State to find his new linebackers coach, Mike Adams, most recently at Mercer and West Georgia.

The job came open last week when UVA alum Clint Sintim, a holdover from the Bronco Mendenhall staff, left his alma mater to take a job as outside linebackers coach at Illinois.

Elliott and Adams coached together at South Carolina State as assistant coaches during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

“When I began my coaching journey, Mike was on the staff at South Carolina State, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years,” Elliott said in a statement included in a press release from UVA Athletics on Tuesday. “He’s an excellent teacher, and as a young coach at that time, I learned a ton from him and how he approached the profession. Mike is a terrific communicator and a man of character. We’re fortunate the timing worked in our favor so he can join our staff. He has established relationships with current staff members from some of his previous coaching positions, which will allow him to transition quickly here at Virginia. Mike will work with a talented group of players in our linebacking room and has the experience to help that group grow and develop to be leaders on our defense.”

Adams had just moved on to a new job at West Georgia, which is making the transition from D2 to FCS beginning this year, in December, after five years at Mercer, an FCS program in the Southern Conference.

The gig at Virginia will be the first for Adams at the FBS level since his one-year stint at his alma mater, Ball State, as a grad assistant back in 1997.

“I am truly honored to join a program of such high character staff, players and families that Coach Elliott has assembled in Charlottesville,” Adams said in a statement from the press release. “I have always had an extreme admiration for this Virginia program and this conference. I’m preparing to unite with these players and create a great experience as we work towards achieving their goals every day. My family and I are also excited to begin our experience here at this prestigious university and look forward to interacting within the community as well.”