Former Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello is on the Nick Saban path and that’s a nightmare for Vols fans
Former Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello is experiencing plenty of ups-and-downs in his first season as the manager of the San Francisco Giants. That’s led to speculation about his next move.
Every time it feels like Tony Vitello is building some positive momentum as the manager of the San Francisco Giants, something happens that puts the former Tennessee baseball coach back in the crosshairs of the national media.
The Giants finished last week by winning four of five games, giving San Francisco some positive vibes to start the week.
But those positive vibes quickly disappeared on Monday night after the Giants blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals in a 4-3 loss.
Vitello is under heat from fans and the local media in San Francisco for not letting starting pitcher Logan Webb finish the game and instead turning to Keaton Winn, who had been heavily used the last few days.
Unless the Giants get hot this summer — which seems unlikely based on what we’ve seen so far this season — speculation about Vitello’s future in MLB is going to continue.
And I think that’s fair. Vitello entered MLB as a complete unknown at this level. He had no previous big league experience. No one knew how this would play out for Vitello. If it continues to trend in the wrong direction, it’s reasonable to expect that Vitello will eventually return to college baseball, where we already know he can excel.
It feels like Tony Vitello is going to be the baseball version of Nick Saban
It’s certainly starting to feel like Vitello is on the Nick Saban path.
Saban, of course, won a national championship at LSU before giving the NFL a shot as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. After going 15-17 in two seasons in Miami, Saban took over as the head coach at Alabama and proceeded to turn the Crimson Tide into an absolute juggernaut.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported this week that Vitello “insists” he’s still happy he took the job with the Giants.
“While there has been speculation that San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello is so frustrated in his new job and could return to the college ranks after the season, he insists that he’s still happy he took the job, paying him $3.5 million a year, a record salary for first-year managers,” wrote Nightengale.
Saban was even more direct than that in late 2006 when he said he wasn’t going to be the head coach at Alabama (before taking the job 10 days later). Coaches change their minds. I do believe that Vitello is living in the moment and thinking only about his job with the Giants right now. But at some point, he’ll contemplate his future. I ultimately believe his longterm future is in college baseball. And I don’t think it’ll be at Tennessee. I think he’ll land elsewhere (Arkansas? Missouri maybe? Or who knows what job with good resources will come open).
Tennessee, after all, has a head coach in Josh Elander who did a good job in year one. Elander has the potential to be a really good coach at Tennessee, and I think he’s capable of bringing a national championship to Rocky Top just like Vitello did (hey, LSU won two nattys after Saban left).
If Vitello returns to college, perhaps even more focused and determined and armed with even more knowledge thanks to his stint in MLB, he could easily become the Saban of college baseball. And man, that would be tough for Vols fans to watch unfold — just like it was tough for LSU fans to watch Saban at Alabama.
I obviously can’t predict the future, so we’ll see what happens with Vitello. But if you’re sitting there rolling your eyes or calling me an idiot, just remember that I suggested in 2024 that Vitello to MLB was a possibility. I received a lot of nasty comments and replies for that take (some folks on the internet just spew toxic nonsense relentlessly…those people need a hug or something). And it turned out to be pretty accurate…
It may not happen in 2027, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Tony V in college baseball.