Tony Vitello points out one thing that would’ve made his decision to leave Tennessee more ‘difficult’
Tony Vitello stepped down as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols last month to take over as the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.
It’s no secret that Tony Vitello’s decision to leave the Tennessee Vols to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants wasn’t an easy one.
Vitello was visibly emotional in the days before he accepted the Giants’ job offer.
Ultimately, Vitello couldn’t pass up the opportunity to manage in the big leagues, but it clearly wasn’t easy for him to leave Knoxville.
Tony Vitello details one thing that would’ve made the decision to leave Tennessee more difficult
Vitello joined 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL on Wednesday for a lengthy in-studio interview (a must watch for Vols and Giants fans).
104.5 The Zone’s Brent Dougherty asked Vitello during the interview if would’ve been more difficult to leave Tennessee had the Vols not won a national championship in 2024.
“Yes, it would have,” responded Vitello.
I don’t think it’s a surprise to hear that answer from Vitello. In fact, had the Vols not won the national championship in 2024, I bet Vitello never would have engaged with the Giants (or any MLB team).
Vitello also admitted that jumping out of his comfort zone to manage the Giants is “scary”.
“This [Vols] team, I love the team,” said Vitello. “And there’s some guys that I personally had to work really hard to get them on campus. There’s a couple of no doubt first rounders. So you could slice it a bunch of different ways. But things like how good the team is, and how good the Giants’ roster is, really became peripheral to just, ‘Do you want to try and do this?’ Certainly, you’re not in a comfort zone if you’re in the SEC, but this is a lot. San Francisco people — hopefully, they’re not listening — but this is scary.”
You never know any hire will play out, but I don’t think it would be wise to bet against Vitello in San Francisco.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Tennessee Vols as Tony Vitello points out one thing that would’ve made his decision to leave Tennessee more ‘difficult’.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Former Tennessee coach Tony Vitello addresses his relationship with Vols athletic director Danny White
Tony Vitello stepped down as Tennessee’s head baseball coach last month to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.
