Vitello, 47, has been considered one of the best coaches in college baseball and turned Tennessee from a Southeastern Conference doormat into a perennial top team in the nation. The Volunteers have reached the super regional round in five straight seasons, with three trips to the College World Series and one national championship (2024) during that time.
Tennessee has also produced several MLB players during that time, and the Giants have several former Volunteers in their organization: outfielder Drew Gilbert, pitcher Blade Tidwell and infielders Maui Ahuna and Gavin Kilen, the Giants’ first-round pick in 2025.
The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly first mentioned Vitello as a possible candidate all the way back on the day of the final game of the season — before the Giants had even officially fired Bob Melvin. Baggarly reported that Vitello and SF Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey were both at a recent Giants-Rockies series, which saw Gilbert hit a homer off of his former Volunteer teammate Chase Dollander, and said it was “possible” they may have “spoken.”
The Giants had been in discussions with Posey’s former backup catcher Nick Hundley, and Baggarly wrote last week that, “It’s becoming a widely held expectation the job is Hundley’s, if he is ready to accept it.” But Hundley has pulled out of the running, according to multiple reports.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Tennessee had a scrimmage as part of its fall ball practices on Saturday and Vitello “addressed his team in right field following the scrimmage and openly discussed the reports that he is set to be the Giants’ next manager.” Still, the coach told the outlet that “nothing is done” and he did not have an official offer from San Francisco as of that publication.
It’s exceedingly rare for an MLB team to hire a manager directly from the college ranks, and even current Brewers manager Pat Murphy spent a decade climbing the MLB ranks after coaching at Arizona State. But the new story from Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported that Vitello “almost certainly would not be paid as an entry-level hire,” citing his more-than-$3 million salary at Tennessee.
It would certainly not the first eyebrow-raising move Posey has made since taking over the Giants front office last year. But even with the trade for Rafael Devers, hiring a college coach directly to an MLB manager role would be Posey’s boldest decision yet.
