NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After days of uncertainty, Tony Vitello has made up his mind.
The beloved Tennessee baseball coach is finalizing a deal to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants, as first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan.
Vitello, 47, will become the first college head coach to become a Major League Baseball manager without previous pro experience.
In eight seasons as Tennessee head coach, Vitello built the baseball program into a national power. He won 341 games highlighted by a 2024 College World Series championship. He led the Vols to Omaha in three of the past five seasons.
Vitello took over a program that had spent more than a decade near the bottom of the SEC but resurrected it thanks to sensational recruiting and an edge that permeated through his players and on to the field.
Word of the Giants offer first broke on Saturday, but Vitello was insistent he had not made up his mind about the opportunity. The longer the wait went the more optimism there was that Vitello may decide to stay on Rocky Top where he made $3 million per year and the baseball program is getting significant facility upgrades. The opportunity to make history and coach professional baseball in a well-regarded organization, ultimately was too much to pass up.
Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White now has the unenviable task of looking for a baseball coach in the fall. Expect assistant Josh Elander and pitching coach Frank Anderson, a former head coach at Oklahoma State, to be considered in either an interim or full-time coaching role.
