The Tennessee Vols’ 2026 baseball season is set to get underway on Friday, and for the first time since 2016, Tony Vitello will not be in the dugout at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The former Vols’ skipper now has his sights set on Spring Training with the San Francisco Giants as their manager, which is set to get underway this week.

However, with Super Bowl LX taking place in the Bay Area, the media opportunities were increased last week, and that included chances for Vitello as well. He joined Jonathan Hutton and Chad Withrow from Outkick for an interview in the Giants’ locker room on Super Bowl Sunday to discuss his transition from Tennessee to MLB.

One of the topics that came up was a hot button one for Tennessee fans — his relationship with Tennessee AD Danny White. Withrow pointed out that Tennessee fans are looking for someone to blame, that White has been that scapegoat, and asked if that was fair.

Tony Vitello says it’s not fair to blame Tennessee AD Danny White for his departure to San Francisco

“No, it’s not, and I’ll say it’s not fair for us to have a barrier wall put up in our relationship, too, because Danny is really, really exceptional when it comes to finances. There’s been a lot of restructuring. Obviously, you just go to the baseball stadium, but you could go all over campus and see the work that’s being done with the buildings that are being put on campus.

“And then the rest was left up to us. We’re going to take care of our student-athletes, and take care of our fans, especially the ones with some extra jingle in their pocket. And the rest is up to you. And if you don’t have a good product on the field that can compete in the SEC, it’s kind of on you. And I’m hoping it’s a similar environment here, and I’ve felt that for sure.

That’s not an acknowledgment that they had the best relationship, but it’s also not saying that White had anything to do with him leaving. To the contrary, Vitello carried on from talking about White and Tennessee to talk about personal growth why he ultimately chose to go to San Francisco.

“No, the number one thing out of all those conversations, it boiled down to, was — it sounds a little cheesy — but personal growth. It’s a big world out there. How do you get along with Jung Hoo (Lee), who’s from Korea and has an interpreter with him at all times? Who’s a superstar. How do you handle all the things that come with playing the Yankees on opening day?

“And then also just branching out. Living in a big city. Experiencing different things. And ultimately the challenge, too.

“An X-factor, I’d be remiss, is Buster is in the (Derek) Jeter, Andy Pettite, I don’t know who else is as big of a winner as those guys. And so, to get to kind of attach your career to somebody like that, worst case scenario, you learn a ton.”

It’s honestly hard to fault Vitello for wanting to take on that challenge. It’s the ultimate one for any baseball coach, and to be the pioneer in the coaching world by being the first college head coach to jump to a managerial role with no previous MLB experience is something no one can fault Vitello for passing up.

And, if you at least take Vitello by his word, his move isn’t one that White facilitated. Some may not take him at that word, and that’s fine, but looking at the big picture, it seems like it’s one that Vitello wanted and is excited about.

So, all that’s left now is to cheer on Vitello and the Giants organization (including former Vols Gavin Kilen, Drew Gilbert, and Blade Tidwell) and Josh Elander and the Vols starting this week.

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