Tony Vitello Hopes San Francisco Giants Decision Doesn’t Give Him Lane Kiffin Status With Tennessee Fans
Vitello opens up about his move to the San Francisco Giants
Former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello admits his decision to leave Knoxville for the San Francisco Giants was one of the toughest of his life.
Torn between his heart and his dreams, Vitello becomes the first college baseball coach ever to jump directly to an MLB managerial role, skipping the minor league ranks entirely.
Almost seven days ago, news broke that Vitello was ‘closing in’ on accepting a job with the Giants, which caught Tennessee fans off-guard, but mostly due to the timing of the news, which came just hours before the football team was set to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
But one thing he wanted to make clear to college baseball, and Tennessee, fans was that he wasn’t involved in that news leaking, and he certainly didn’t tell his players he was leaving, contrary to one report.
"Whatever went down Saturday, I did not have anything to do with that and it put everyone in a whirlwind," Vitello told a select group of local media. "Now that we look back on it, I think it was unfair. Hopefully, people don't think I'm a diva because that's kind of how it seemed to play out."
To READ VITELLO'S FULL COMMENTS, CLICK HERE. He met with a small group of local reporters on Thursday night, who spend their days covering the team, sometimes in the frigid East Tennessee air on a Tuesday night.
Tony Vitello Hopes To Not Be Put In Lane Kiffin Territory
The former Tennessee coach certainly wears his heart on his sleeve, and his emotions sometimes get the best of him. But, that's just the Italian blood in him.
He worries about the decisions made having an impact on those close to him, but also how much he cares for those around him, along with his passion for the area that turned him into a grown man.
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One thing that he hopes doesn't happen moving forward is Tennessee fans putting him in the same category as one-year coach Lane Kiffin.
"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 noted. "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. 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."
I personally don't think that will be a problem moving forward.
Vitello Says He Did Not Make A Decision Until Wednesday
Even though there was a report stating that Vitello told his players last Saturday that he had made his decision. This just wasn't the case, though the news of him already accepting the job had made life pretty difficult for those inside the athletic department, along with his team.
"Unfortunately, on Saturday, they don't have their phones," Vitello explained. "The assistants and me, we have them. One of the coaches said you are going to need to say something and I did. I just mentioned that nothing had been done… Then it wasn’t Saturday. Saturday was nothing. I turned my phone off to be honest with you and I watched the football game."
There will be plenty of more conversations Vitello will have down the road on other decisions that led to him taking the Giants job. But, the most obvious answer is that this was a Major League Baseball job, and a dream he could not turn down.
But, I think it's fair to say that college baseball will need to find a new villain to rail against, and I promise there are plenty of options out there.