Tony Vitello told a small group of Tennessee Vols beat reporters last month that he wasn’t going anywhere after resigning as UT’s baseball coach to take over as the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.

“First off, just people saying bye and everything like that, I’m not going anywhere,” said Vitello (via VolQuest). “So real estate people quit texting me. I’ll figure out what I want to do. But whether it’s football games, basketball games, supporting these guys in some form or fashion, I’m not going anywhere.”

(Note: Vitello make those comments to VolQuest, Rocky Top Insider, GoVols247, and the Knoxville News Sentinel — the outlets that covered him daily in person during his time at Tennessee — after deciding to accept the job with the Giants.)

It’s been nearly a month since Vitello dropped that quote, and he has more than lived up to it since.

Vitello was in Knoxville for the Vols’ game against the Oklahoma Sooners earlier this month, and he’s appeared in studio on 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL in Nashville a couple of times over the last few weeks — including this week.

Tony Vitello talks about leaving the Tennessee Vols for MLB

During Vitello’s in-studio appearance on 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL this week, he was asked by former Tennessee Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck if he had anything to say to Vols fans.

Vitello, who is never short on words, didn’t disappoint with his response.

“When people come up to me, first of all, it’s what they say; it’s very nice, and it’s, if anything, over the top — they were heartbroken,” said Vitello. “And again, the baseball program is not going anywhere. The stadium is only getting better. The players are still there. I was a very, very small piece of things. But when they say they were heartbroken to hear the news, they’re just making conversation. And I leave with I was heartbroken, too. And [I] still am.

“So that’s my best way to put it into words….They’re not going to get rid of me. I’m going to always be around at the games. And it’s stirred up a lot of conversations with people that were our day ones and helped us build this thing up. So it sounds cheesy to say it means everything, but it really does. It was the best run I’ve had of my career. But it was also the best run I’ve had in my life. And it’s why I want those bonds we’ve been talking about to stay true, and that’s why I want a residency here in Tennessee. And I want to be involved in things, whether it’s in Nashville or Knoxville or any other city.”

It’s clear that leaving Tennessee wasn’t easy for Vitello. Rocky Top obviously means a lot to him. But the chance to manage in the big leagues is an incredible opportunity. There are only 30 of those jobs in the world — there was just no way Vitello, a baseball lifer, could pass that up.

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