At the end of a bumpy week, Josh Elander smoothly walked down a hallway past the Tennessee baseball team.
He headed to the lectern, clad in a black suit with a black shirt and black-and-orange tie with the early regrowth of his familiar beard visible. The person who has always been a calm, stabilizing presence in the program had an admittedly scary and rocky few days.
It was over at last.
“This is the easiest no-brainer of all time,” Elander said Oct. 27. “I love this place and just excited to continue this show with the guys.”
Elander, the former associate head coach, is the new head coach of the powerhouse Tennessee program, having earned the job in a frantic week following Tony Vitello’s decision to manage the San Francisco Giants. Elander was the in-house option who athletic director Danny White asked to be a candidate in the wake of Vitello’s departure and who won out in a national search by being himself.
How Josh Elander blew Danny White away in interview
White vowed to go into the process with “open eyes” — and Elander opened them wide.
That began with an initial conversation on Oct. 22 after Vitello left. Former Tennessee players already had flocked to social media to voice their support for Elander as the best and only option for the position. White emphasized he did not let public opinion sway him.
Elander’s interview did all the swaying. He interviewed on Oct. 24 as one of the two candidates known to have interviewed, the other being Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall.
“He really blew us away,” White said of Elander. “Obviously, he has the advantage of knowing our players and the system that has had so much success. But he needed to represent himself as a candidate to be head coach against a competitive field and he certainly did that in spades.”
Elander, 34, prepped for his interview by talking to some of his mentors. He kept it to simple thoughts. He did not feel the need to puff his chest or suggest he wanted to come in and put his stamp on the program.
He desired to present who he is — even if he shaved his beard before the interview. He explained about how he has learned from Vitello, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle. He coached under Vitello and Van Horn, and was a catcher for Schlossnagle at TCU.
The longtime Vols assistant talked about the program being about the players and their development through the structure already in place, with a focus on relationships and competition.
“This is an organic, sustainable culture that’s been built over a long period of time,” Elander said. “We truly, truly believe in that. The players are the ones who make that possible and hold those standards every day.”
When Danny White decided to hire Josh Elander to coach Tennessee baseball
Elander shined with everything he said in the interview that lasted more than two hours.
White was sold that Elander was “clearly ready to be a head coach.” He wowed with his maturity, confidence and vision of sustaining success in the immediate future and in the long term.
“He was extremely impressive, more so than probably I expected for someone at his age and who had never been a head coach before,” White said.
Elander checked the boxes that the team’s leadership group of Jay Abernathy, Brandon Arvidson, Reese Chapman, Levi Clark and Stone Lawless communicated to White in a meeting on Oct. 23.
He’s organized, thorough, a culture-builder and undeniably authentic.
Following the interview, White discussed Elander in depth on Oct. 24 with a committee featuring deputy athletic director and chief marketing officer Alicia Longworth, associate athletic director of administration Tyler Johnson and deputy athletic director and chief competitive officer Marshall Steward. Former Vols great Todd Helton served as a sounding board.
Roster continuity was a major win with Elander. So was keeping recruiting classes intact and growing under the work of Elander and the standing Vols staff.
White made the call on Oct. 25 that Elander was the choice.
White told Elander and pitching coach Frank Anderson, who served as the interim coach for three days, that he wanted to have some fun with the players. He met with the team in the film room at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and informed them he had their next coach.
Elander walked in and was engulfed by a screaming, delighted team that he’s now leading.
“To be able to earn the job and to be able to walk in and see these guys and that moment I had with them, I’ll never forget,” Elander said.
Josh Elander ready to keep Tennessee baseball going
The players stood in the studio listening to Elander’s first public remarks as the Tennessee coach. Nine days had passed since Vitello informed them after a scrimmage that he was involved in the San Francisco Giants’ search. Five days had passed since Vitello took the manager job.
All Elander wanted in those days was a chance to compete.
He has done it for decades as a player and coach. He did it in an interview this time, earning a five-year deal that pays him $1 million annually, by proving himself the perfect candidate to lead the program he helped elevate for the past eight seasons into a College World Series regular and a 2024 national championship.
He gushed with gratitude for the present and the future, the chance to keep the program moving.
“I just wanted one more day with the guys that we had in the building,” Elander said. “I’m so thankful it played out in that way. It’s an honor and privilege to stand here as a new head coach at Tennessee baseball.”
The scary parts were gone. Emotions remained. They were replaced by the best ones as he hugged his wife, Brittany, and their three young daughters. He called in all of the coaches, staff members and players for a picture after the news conference.
Elander thought it was a no-brainer to stay at Tennessee. In the end, Tennessee felt the same about him.
“We’re going to keep this thing going,” he said.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.