Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello was recently mentioned as a candidate for the San Francisco Giants’ managerial opening.
Vitello has never played or coached at the MLB level. But he has connections in MLB and is well respected throughout the game.
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While it’s unlikely that an MLB team would hire a manager (with no MLB experience) from the college level, it can’t be completely ruled out. All it takes is one team to make a serious offer.
We don’t know if Tony Vitello interviewed with the Giants, but we know the Giants spoke with a college head coach
According to The Athletic, Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has talked to at least one or two current college head coaches about the opening in San Francisco.
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“Sources familiar with the Giants search indicated that Posey has held phone or teleconference calls with multiple potential candidates, including at least one or two NCAA Division I head coaches, but it’s less clear how many candidates have advanced to formal interviews,” wrote The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly this week.
VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs noted earlier this month that Vitello and Posey have a relationship.
“He knows (President of Baseball Operations) Buster Posey from the San Francisco Giants,” said Hubbs of Vitello a couple of weeks ago. “They talk somewhat on the regular, from what I understand. They were together and visited with each other recently when the Rockies and the Giants played a series, and Tony was out visiting and seeing some of his former players. [Did] they had conversations in the last week or so? Yeah, I think they probably have. Does that mean Tony Vitello is leaving? No, I don’t think it does. But the first time you say there’s nothing to that and you walk away, then you look like a fool if something happens. I don’t think Tony minds his name being out there. Do I think he’s going to stay in the college game ultimately? If you’re making me guess this morning, my guess on that would be, yes, I think he stays at Tennessee.”
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“Do I think the Giants have some legitimate interest? I think they have interest or curiosities,” continued Hubbs. “I’m not saying he’s at the top of their board, but I do think there’s enough of a relationship there with their management team and their leadership that, you know, they have some interest and intrigue there. But it’s premature to say it’s going to become anything. It’s dumb on my part to say there’s no chance it ever becomes anything. So we’ll see.”
Former MLB catcher Nick Hundley is viewed by many around the league as the favorite for the job.
We’ll see if anything develops with Vitello and the Giants, though it still seems very unlikely.
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Oct 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.