'I Can Add a Lot of Value Here at Illinois': Sintim Makes Move to Join Illini Coaching Staff

New Illinois outside linebackers coach Clint Sintim reached the pinnacle of college and professional football during his playing days. An All-American linebacker at Virginia, Sintim was selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft before winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in his third season as a pro.

Knee injuries brought his playing career to an end sooner than he hoped, but he has since taken to coaching, an endeavor that has now led him to Champaign.

"I believe this is the right fit for me, and I feel like I can add a lot of value here at Illinois," Sintim said. "It happened relatively quickly, but it was one of those things where I knew it'd be an opportunity for myself and my family. I jumped on it to be able to help this program."

Sintim's coaching journey began in 2014, when he accepted an opportunity to coach special teams and outside linebackers at Division-II West Alabama. After initially not looking to go into coaching, Sintim pursued real estate once he announced his retirement from the NFL in 2013.

As soon as he got back around the sport, he quickly realized coaching was the perfect fit for him.

"After my last year, the Super Bowl year, I was kind of debating on what I wanted to do. My first thought was not coaching," Sintim said. "Eventually, I got into it. When I got to West Alabama, I just fell in love with it. I really enjoyed being around different young men and the camaraderie. From that point on, I learned how to be a better coach. 

"It wasn't long after I started that I knew this was what I wanted to do. It's a blessing to be able to do it. There's a lot of sacrifice to be able to do it, but it's super rewarding when you get to coach good kids, which I have here at Illinois."

A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Sintim returned to his home state one year later, making the jump up to the D1 FCS level with Richmond as a linebackers and defensive ends coach. After two seasons with the Spiders, which included back-to-back playoff appearances and a trip to the semifinals in 2015, Sintim accepted the same position at Delaware.

Spending three seasons with the Blue Hens, which included a trip to the FCS playoffs to end an eight-year drought, Sintim earned the opportunity to return to his alma mater, Virginia, as the defensive line coach in 2020.

Sintim coached against the Fighting Illini twice during his four years with the Cavaliers, serving as Virginia's linebackers coach during both meetings. One season after traveling to Champaign for a nonconference matchup between the orange and blue schools, Sintim will be on the opposite sideline as the outside linebackers coach at Illinois this spring and heading into the fall.

It was not an easy decision to leave his alma mater and take a chance with the Illini, but his conversations with head coach Bret Bielema made him certain he would fit right in at Illinois.

"I did a lot of research in that short period of time, but I think it was just the trust in who Coach Bielema is as a coach and as a man," Sintim said. "My wife is fully supportive of it. We're trusting that this is going to be the next opportunity for us as a family to help this program reach its goals."

Though his wife, Angie, and two children, Aniyah and Amari, are still back in Virginia and will move to the Midwest in June, Sintim joined his new famILLy ahead of spring ball. That familial culture has already been apparent in his short time in Champaign, and Sintim is already fully invested in the identity Bielema and the entire program have emphasized and embraced.

"Our football program is a family," Sintim said. "I think family is relationship-based, but it's a commitment to those relationships. Family extends to so much more when you build relationships and share common things. I appreciate the fact that Coach Bielema promotes that because you can be related without necessarily having the same bloodline by being closely knit to other people. 

"That's important to me. That's something that I feel here between the coaches and the players, and it's something that I'm trying to continue to add on to."

While Sintim continues to adjust to new surroundings, he has gotten to work building relationships with his unit, a group that features several familiar faces from one season ago. He knows those connections will not happen overnight, but he is willing to be patient and prove himself to his players.

After all, that is what he has done every step of the way in the road to Illinois.

"Humbly stated, I've been to where they want to go," Sintim said. "Whenever you play at a high level, it does give you instant credibility, but I think your ability to coach and develop maintains that credibility. That's where I'm at right now: trying to prove that I can add value to them as far as being good players. Relationships take time. I told those guys I'm gonna be pretty genuine about who I am, but I'm committed to trying to build a relationship. Those guys have been really good as far as allowing me to coach them. 

"I think as time goes on, we're only going to get better and stronger."

2024 Illinois Football Schedule

All games and dates are subject to change.