The Tennessee Volunteers and the San Francisco Giants remain in their 12-round boxing match for the prize of Tony Vitello coaching their team. Here’s the latest updates.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello exchanges words with an umpire during game one of the NCAA baseball tournament Fayetteville Super Regional between Tennessee and Arkansas held at Baum-Walker Stadium on Saturday, June 7, 2025. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Tennessee baseball coach attended yet another Tennessee baseball practice amid these rumors. He was there the whole time and even walked up to a fan during the event to thank him and the rest of VolNation for showing up and showing him love. He gave a fan a baseball that was signed during the event. This is a huge positive, as if he wasn’t to attend the event the signs would point more towards him leaving.
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello smiles on the sidelines during a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 13, 2025. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Following the Tennessee baseball event there were reports that confirmed that Vitello held a team meeting while the team was together. The reports afterwards started to flow in.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello during game one of the NCAA baseball tournament Fayetteville Super Regional between Tennessee and Arkansas held at Baum-Walker Stadium on Saturday, June 7, 2025. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Vitello told the Tennessee baseball program that he remains undecided in this moment of thinking, but this seems to be a battle it seems. The coach has the opportunity to go coach a major league team or he can remain in Knoxville with the Vols for this upcoming season.
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello speaks with MLB Network during the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The announcement was anticipated to be made on Tuesday, but that wasn’t the case. He is set to make his decision sooner rather than later, but as time passes, it seems this decision can now be made at any point in time.
“Everything we hear is that he does want this. And the Giants are going to have to make it worth his while to leave Tennessee… The ball is in his court, this is the guy they’ve offered the job to.”@extrabaggs with the latest on the Tony Vitello to the Giants reports ⬇️
(via… pic.twitter.com/2Uq1CRv14v
— KNBR (@KNBR) October 20, 2025
“Not yet. I mean there’s a lot to work through, and a lot of financials involved, and another thing is, I think a complicating factor is there is a eight teams looking for a manager now. I was talking to someone else in the business this morning and they were like ‘what if you get an offer from say the Twins, but you know that the Padres still want to talk to you’. It’s like, what do you do? It’s a really good question. I’m not suggesting that Tony Vitello is out there getting multiple major league offers. I think what we need to know is how much does he want this, and everything that we continue to hear is that he does want this, and this isn’t just a way to drive up his Tennessee salary. But the Giants are going to have to make this worth his while. Not only will this be only unprecedented to hire a D1 coach straight into an MLB manager position, but I mean he is going to be basically an entry level experience guy in terms of pro baseball, and he’s not going to be paid like one. I mean they are going to have to make it worth his while to leave Tennessee, so there are a lot of factors they are working through and also we know that the league does not like the teams to announce things on days that there are postseason games. Obviously, the Blue Jays made sure we had a game seven tonight (Monday).”
Sep 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Drew Gilbert (61) against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images / Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
“You know what, honestly, what I knew was Drew Gilbert. And I don’t know that any of this happens without Drew Gilbert. I really don’t. That’s one of the questions I’d be interested to ask Buster if this does end up culminating in a press conference to introduce Tony Vitello as the next manager. How much Drew Gilbert did in the clubhouse and the dugout and everything. He brings the spirit and energy. How much of that makes you wake up and think that this is what that organization needs? Maybe that’s what the clubhouse needs. I didn’t really know a whole lot about Tony Vitello before that. And recording this feature that I wrote about Drew Gilbert in September, it just seemed like this guy is really changing the game in a huge way, and I heard that this was going to be a challenge with this many teams looking at manager changes. The supply and demand could be out of whack. Some teams might have to look at some candidates that are a little bit more off the grid. This is the kind of guy who fits the description of what this organization needs right now. That’s kind of where that started. I would be really interested in Buster’s mind.”
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello greet the 250 youth who are taking part in a baseball camp with Tennessee baseball players at Gibbs Ruritan Park on Sept. 28, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The event is hosted by the Morgan Wallen Foundation, which donated $140,000 in 2024 to renovate the park. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“I think there’s going to be an offer, yeah, they are going to try to keep him. Basically, do what they can to make it attractive for him to stay, and he is really valuable to them, obviously. We know that there’s a lot of money in college baseball. I think that’s one of the things that’s probably happening.”
Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello during a NCAA regional baseball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Cincinnati Bearcats at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 31, 2025. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“I mean I don’t know, I really don’t know. This is not something that Giants have floated out there. They have been locked down, we don’t have any team sources on any of our reporting. It’s all through the industry, so this is not to their advantage to have this news out there if they really want to get this guy. But he’s got some choices to make. The ball’s in his court really, Tony Vitello. Maybe another team will look at this and be like ‘why aren’t we talking to this guy?’ Then another team is calling, so there’s a lot of different permutations. This is the guy that they have offered the job to, now we just have to found out if they can match it up.”