‘It was a sad day, because I don’t think this had to happen’ – Insider dishes on Tony Vitello and Danny White’s not great relationship
There’s been a lot of talk about the relationship between former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello and athletic director Danny White
One of the most interesting developments in Tony Vitello’s decision to leave the Tennessee Vols to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants is the public revelation that he didn’t have the best relationship with UT athletic director Danny White.
To be clear, the feeling isn’t that Vitello was looking for a way out of Tennessee because of White. I fully believe — and many others share this sentiment — that the chance to manage an MLB team was too great an opportunity for Vitello to turn down. The fact that Vitello even considered staying in Knoxville tells you all you need to know about how he felt about Tennessee.
Still, some believe that a stronger relationship between White and Vitello could’ve led to a different outcome in this saga.
On3’s Chris Low shares some thoughts on Tony Vitello and Danny White
On3’s Chris Low appeared on WNML’s Josh and Swain on Thursday, and he shared some thoughts on Vitello, White, and Tennessee baseball.
“I think for Tennessee fans, they were always hopeful that Tony would stay,” said Low. “But being in the major leagues, that’s quite an opportunity for a college coach to get that type of opportunity and really be a pioneer. And I think over the last couple years, if you’re inside and sort of know what’s going on, this probably wasn’t just a complete surprise to a lot of people — certainly [people] close to the program — that there had not been what I would call the best relationships between Tony and Danny White, the Tennessee AD. And I think when you combine all of it — I don’t think it was just one thing — but when you combine all of it, what happened yesterday, happened.
“I think as people sort of think back through (the Vitello era), it now, and what it was like, there’s a lot of sadness,” continued Low. “I know, Danny White said it was a proud day. I disagree. It was a sad day, because I don’t think this had to happen. I think there was a way for this not to happen, and it happened. I think that’s what people are most upset, sad, and angry [about] — all the different emotions. That you had a real gem, you had a treasure. And Tony wasn’t perfect. Maybe the way he did things and handled things in the last few years wasn’t perfect. None of us are. But he clearly was something that, when you look at Tennessee athletics, and yeah, [baseball] didn’t make money, and yeah, they lost money, but he was something, again, that Tennessee people had to hold on to and say, ‘He’s ours. He makes us proud.’ And guess what, there’s not a lot of people walking around over there with a natty ring.”
Maybe there’s nothing White could’ve done to get Vitello to say. We’ll probably never know the real answer to that question because he didn’t try to do everything he could to get Vitello to say.
What I do know, though, is that if Tennessee baseball doesn’t pick up where it left off under Vitello, there will be a lot of Vols fans asking, “How did we let Tony V leave?” — likely with some colorful language — given the way White handled the entire situation
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