Tony Vitello wants to know who leaked his interest in Giants job

Tony Vitello started his press conference Monday morning with a question of own that he wanted answered.

“When did when did you first think I was taking this job?” the first-year San Francisco Giants manager asked while surrounded by reporters. “Do you remember that far back?”

The answer was around four or five days before Vitello was actually announced as the new manager of the Giants, confirming his departure after eight unforgettable seasons at Tennessee.

The timing of the reporting is what Vitello appeared to take exception with. 

“Yeah, that’s funny you say that,” Vitello said, “because that was not reality at all. I don’t know if Buster (Posey) would feel the same way, but that wasn’t the case. Somebody decides they think they got the information.

“The final blow was about four days later.”

The Athletic reported Tony Vitello’s interest in the Giants on October 18

The Athletic reported on the afternoon of October 18 that San Francisco was “closing in” on the hiring of Vitello as the club’s next manager. It was announced by the Giants and made official four days later, on October 22. 

In the days in between, Vitello continued coaching his Vols through fall workouts in Knoxville.

“And the thing,” Vitello continued on Monday, “I’m just kind of having a conversation, therapy, if you will, from walking out of there. But I needed confirmation from the coaches that I worked with, that helped boost my status, that they were okay with what was going to go on, and they were going to be okay with their jobs.”

But the reporting — Vitello was on the field with his team with the initial report surfaced — was creating a sizable wake within the Tennessee baseball program.

“That staff had always been built as next man up, and all of a sudden that was being threatened,” Vitello said. “So it was kind of hard to do something for yourself, and your teammates get left behind. But yeah, it was not four days, for what it’s worth. That was not the case at all. 

“If you would’ve seen me in my condo, you would’ve, you would’ve agreed. So but anyway.”

Vitello was then asked why he was discussing the move nearly four months later. 

“Because somebody tweeted it out,” Vitello said. “I don’t know who told them. I wish I did. And it might have changed the course of history if I would’ve known who did, to be honest with you. 

“But it just bothers me because, I don’t know, you see people angry on the — I hate to get philosophical — but you see people angry on the streets for, a lot of times, stuff that’s not even true, you know? People arguing, and you don’t know what reality is.”

Tony Vitello led Vols to national championship, three trips to College World Series

Vitello took Tennessee from the bottom of the SEC to the top of the college baseball world during his time with the Vols. He led the program to its first national championship in a 60-win season in 2024, one of three trips to the College World Series in Omaha.

In just his second season he had Tennessee back in an NCAA Tournament regional, where the Vols had not been since 2005. They went to Omaha in 2021, 2023 and 2024 and made Super Regional appearances last season and in 2022.

His move to the Giants made him the first college baseball coach to get a Major League Baseball job with no previous coaching experience in professional baseball. 

“I did a really damn good job at keeping that away from our team, our recruiting, and it was not a distraction,” Vitello said. “And then all of a sudden, in the middle of practice, I see our first and third base coach freaking out, and they freaked out on me, too. And for no reason, because at that point, nothing was going to happen. 

“But somebody decided that it was going to happen, and then the whole world started spinning real, real quick. And I had to address the team.”

That brought Vitello to his next point: His departure was not a distraction with his players. Not before, during or after those four days in October. 

“And people said either that or me leaving was a distraction,” he said. “Those guys are SEC athletes. They ain’t distracted by me. We dealt with years where they thought we might take a job or we were offered a job or there was jobs open. I’d meet with guys in the office, they’re like: ‘Coach, we don’t care.’ 

“The guys care about the guys when the season’s going on, and hopefully they love their coaches, but that thing was never a distraction. They got talent and they got good kids, so they’re going to be just fine.”

Tennessee over the weekend swept Nicholls to open the 2026 season under new head coach Josh Elander — Vitello’s former associate head coach and recruiting coordinator — playing in a new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium, which just finished a $105.1 million renovation. 

The Giants open their spring training schedule on Saturday in the Cactus League in Arizona and open the regular-season schedule against the Yankees on MLB Opening Night March 25 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

“Yeah, that was not a fun Saturday,” Vitello said, “and then it kind of affected how the next few days went. But ultimately, sorry to rain on your parade. Great organization, great people to work with and a great challenge, so (I) didn’t say no.”