MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Pat Murphy says he couldn\u2019t have imagined going directly from coaching in the college ranks to managing in the major leagues.<\/p>\n
But the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> skipper \u2014 who previously worked as a head coach at Arizona State and Notre Dame \u2014 is confident Tony Vitello can make a successful transition from coaching the University of Tennessee to managing the San Francisco Giants<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited for this guy,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI hear great things. I\u2019ve met him before, but I\u2019m not close associates with him. I\u2019ve heard great things about him. They have a great team and a great organization, so I think it\u2019s going to work, and I don\u2019t think that can happen a lot. I know I wouldn\u2019t have been ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy\u2019s success has lent credence to the notion that a college coach could thrive as a major league manager. <\/p>\n After coaching over two decades at Notre Dame and Arizona State, Murphy has led the Brewers to consecutive NL Central titles since taking over as the manager. He was named the NL Manager of the Year in 2024.<\/p>\n But his situation was very different from the circumstances surrounding Vitello\u2019s hire.<\/p>\n Vitello, who led Tennessee to a 2024 College World Series title, has no pro experience. He is going directly from college to the majors. <\/p>\n Murphy ended his college coaching career in 2009 when he left Arizona State amid an NCAA investigation. He started working in the San Diego Padres<\/a>\u2019 organization the following year, had a stint as their interim manager in 2015, and then spent eight seasons as Milwaukee\u2019s bench coach.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I know for sure is that I couldn\u2019t have made the jump successfully,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s two different games. I say it\u2019s like harness racing and thoroughbred racing. What facilitates that thing is if you have a president or other group of people around you that are going to help you facilitate that and the differences.\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy believes the 47-year-old Vitello has that in Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that if you have everything in place helping you through it, I think the best parts of him can come out, the needed parts, building the connections, the impact on players, the parts that he\u2019s not used to,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThere will be people around him to fill him in. Buster Posey is not dumb. He knows what he\u2019s doing. He knew the scrutiny, and he knew the importance of this hire. And I think it\u2019ll go well for them.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n