‘I was trying to watch Alabama and Tennessee’ – Tony Vitello gives behind the scenes look at his last Saturday as UT’s baseball coach
Before the Third Saturday in October, the idea of Tony Vitello leaving the Tennessee Vols for the San Francisco Giants seemed far fetched. Things got real, however, a few hours before Tennessee played Alabama when The Athletic reported that San Francisco was closing in on a deal with Vitello. It was several days before Vitello […]
Before the Third Saturday in October, the idea of Tony Vitello leaving the Tennessee Vols for the San Francisco Giants seemed far fetched.
Things got real, however, a few hours before Tennessee played Alabama when The Athletic reported that San Francisco was closing in on a deal with Vitello.
It was several days before Vitello officially decided to leave Tennessee, but that Saturday was the beginning of the end of one of the most memorable eras in UT history.
Tony Vitello gives a behind-the-scenes look at his last Saturday as Tennessee’s baseball coach
Vitello appeared on Bussin with the Boys this week and he gave a behind-the-scenes look at his final Saturday as Tennessee’s baseball coach.
“How this thing broke was very unconventional,” said Vitello. “It’s the day and age we live in. We were not even at a point where I was going to make a decision. This news broke on a football Saturday — in the middle of one of our scrimmages — that I was going to do this….I had kind of kept any of the conversations out of the locker room because it could only be a distraction — especially with recruiting.
“If it was gonna get to a point where there’s something I really have to decide on, I was going to involve everybody. Well, that all got skipped over by a tweet [from] Ken Rosenthal or somebody. And I’ve had a couple of people apologize to me, like, ‘Hey, I just got a job to do.’ They get word that talks are at least serious, and now all of a sudden it’s like, you’re [taking the job]. And so I got these texts on Saturday saying ‘I don’t know if it’s true’ or ‘Good luck.’ And I don’t even know how to respond.”
“I was trying to watch Alabama and Tennessee,” continued Vitello. “And I’d thought about going to the game with a donor after our scrimmage, and when this popped, it’s like, well, I’m not going anywhere. I just sat and I was watching the game, and it’s on the ticker (at the bottom of the broadcast). I even kind of quit watching the game a little bit, to be honest with you. And I just, for the night, kind of shut it down. And then the next day, some things picked up.
“Ironically, it ended up being instead of one conversation with the team and being like, this sucks, and crying and everything, it was a three parter. And it gave those guys time to share their thoughts on it a little bit with me, including our coaching staff. And, I mean, this is a tough setting to break down and cry, so I won’t do it here. But I will forever be grateful — the way those kids texted me, talked to me in person, and the way the coaches basically said, ‘Do what you got to do.’ That really opened up the freedom to think about it selfishly, just like, what do I want to do? As opposed to, how is this going to impact other people?”
There’s no doubt that it wasn’t easy for Vitello to leave Tennessee, but he left in the most respectful way possible. But I don’t think anyone expected anything different from Vitello — he’s always been a high-character coach, despite what some opposing fan bases think.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Tennessee Vols as ‘I was trying to watch Alabama and Tennessee’ – Tony Vitello gives behind the scenes look at his last Saturday as UT’s baseball coach.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘As long as that continues, I’d like to be in Knoxville a little bit’ – Tony Vitello details how often he’ll return to Rocky Top
Former Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello was back on Rocky Top this past weekend for UT’s “Dark Mode” game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Vitello, who was introduced as the new manager of the San Francisco Giants last Thursday, said shortly after resigning as Tennessee’s baseball coach that he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m not going […]
