The San Francisco Giants are close to hiring a new manager and the team’s president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, is going with an unconventional hire. The Giants are closing in on University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to be their manager, reports The Athletic. The team has not announced the hire.
“Nothing is done,” Vitello told the Knox News following Tennessee’s scrimmage on Saturday.
Vitello, 47, has never played or coached in the professional ranks. He was an assistant coach at Missouri (2003-10), TCU (2011-13), and Arkansas (2014-17) before landing the head Tennessee job in 2018. Vitello has transformed the program, guiding the Volunteers to their first NCAA postseason appearance since 2005 in his second season as head coach.
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In 2022, the Volunteers had one of the greatest seasons in college baseball history, going 57-9 with a plus-421 run differential. Vitello led Tennessee to the College World Series in 2021, 2023, and 2024. The program won its first National Championship in 2024. In eight years as head coach, Vitello’s record is 341-131 (.722).
The Giants have several former Tennessee players in their organization, including outfielder Drew Gilbert and righty Blade Tidwell, who came over in the Tyler Rogers trade with the New York Mets. San Francisco’s first-round pick last year, infielder Gavin Kilen, also played at Tennessee. Gilbert, Kilen, and Tidwell all played for Vitello.
It is almost unprecedented for a college coach to jump straight into an MLB coaching role, never mind the manager’s position. Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was a longtime college head coach before making the leap into the big leagues, though he spent several years as a bench coach before getting his first MLB manager job.
Assuming the hire is finalized, Vitello will join a team with the talent to win right away. The Giants have a bona fide ace in Logan Webb and a strong middle of the lineup anchored by Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers, and Jung Hoo Lee. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge figures to assume a larger role in 2026 as well.
The Giants went 81-81 and missed the postseason for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in the last nine years. Manager Bob Melvin was let go after the season.