Tony Vitello calls Tennessee exit a ‘selfish decision’ as Lane Kiffin catches stray
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At a small media availability with Tennessee outlets on Friday, former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello explained his decision to leave Knoxville for the San Francisco Giants’ managerial position as a “selfish decision” that didn’t have much to do with his appreciation for Tennessee.
“I’m a VFL,” Vitello said, per Rocky Top Insider.
In spirit, though. The man who helped revitalize Tennessee baseball and captured a College World Series title in 2024 agreed earlier this week to leave UT and blaze a trail in the MLB.
Absent any professional experience whatsoever, Vitello is believed to be the first person to take over a Major League club without any prior MLB experience.
“Anything to do with San Francisco, anything to do with Tennessee, at the end of the day, it was not relevant to the decision,” Vitello said, per RTI. “It was selfish. It was personal reasons. Again, I’ve always tried to be a good teammate, but I feel like I made a selfish decision that was one I needed to make.”
Vitello will be introduced to the Giants’ media contingent at a news conference next week. He didn’t speak much about his future with the organization, instead opting to address the people he is leaving behind.
He said he had several meetings with coaches and players at Tennessee while he was deciding whether to stay or leave. He said he “was blown away” by the support he got from his team.
Vitello said that no decision had been made as of last Saturday, when it was reported that he was the man for the San Francisco job. He said he was “so thankful” for the Oct. 21 scrimmage with the team, during which Tennessee fans showed up to voice their support for him.
“If that is the last time I ever stepped foot on this campus or this field as an employee or as a Vol wearing our orange, I’m just so thankful for the people that showed up,” Vitello said. “It mattered. It made a difference. … It will forever be ingrained in my memory, and it made what was the last day on the job technically, very, very special.”
On Oct. 22, Vitello said he met one final time with his coaching staff and Tennessee players. That meeting helped Vitello decide he could actually pull the trigger and leave the Vols.
“The encouragement to do what was in my heart was next level,” Vitello said. “The freedom I felt from the other coaches and the players that I didn’t know was there and didn’t expect to be there on the level that it was.”
Vitello also joked about former Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin, who spent 1 season at UT before leaving to take the USC job.
“It’s the right decision, and I just hope it doesn’t give me Lane Kiffin status around here, because I feel like I’m a VFL,” Vitello said. “I think if someone truly invests in being a VFL for any amount of time, they’re just that — a Vol For Life. That’s what I am in my mind.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
