Tony Vitello to SF Giants (Merged )

#352
#352
Hate it if pans out that way. I'm thankful for everything he did for the Vols, though!

I hope he succeeds but is an entirely different animal when you're coaching guys that make way more than you.

Best of luck, Tony!
 
#353
#353
lilesrt said:
That’s a question Danny White will have to answer. Tennessee baseball is in the same situation UL Ragin Cajun football program was in when Napier left.. the AD chose to go with an assistant to sustain the culture and it hasn’t panned out and that initial program luster has worn off. The same could be said in this scenario if Elander doesn’t have it. This is the time when Tenn baseball needs to swing big, IMO.
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ULL football is now equivalent to UT baseball. Lord have mercy
 
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#354
#354
Go47 said:
Does Elander have what it takes to keep it going?
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I say this with all due respect. I think Coach Elander is a terrific #2 guy. I don’t see him as having the outgoing personality to deal with the requirements and demands of being the #1 guy at an SEC school. I hope I’m wrong but have felt that way for a long time. With that said, I wouldn’t want anyone else as my #2 coach than Coach Elander. He doesn’t like the limelight and I respect that, but it’s impossible to avoid as the #1 coach.
 
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#356
#356
taylorvol said:
I don’t think he’s 100% convinced on taking the job. I may be naive and it’s just his agent working out the finer points.
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Maybe he’s considering that the longevity plan is much better at Tennessee. He could coach here for the next 20 years. In the MLB you get 2-3 seasons to produce and if you don’t, you’re out. Plus that’s a GM built roster, it’s not like recruiting the players that you want.
 
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#358
#358
taylorvol said:
Same. I’m not saying it’s the sole reason but their relationship is certainly strained. The pull of the Giants and being the first college coach to get the gig is probably too much for normal folks to turn down. CTV isn’t normal. With that said, CTV and Danny White couldn’t be more different. White is a stiff, introverted administrator. CTV is an extroverted free spirit who wants to feel fully supported by his AD, and naturally given the tools to go to Omaha. I don’t think he gets that 100% from Danny White. Plus, I bet TN isn’t in the top 5 of NIL money in baseball in the SEC. That fact alone has to tick off CTV. Maybe Randy Boyd will step in and save the day!
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I don’t have any idea if their relationship is strained or not - hopefully it’s not . . . And that is not any part of the reason CTV would leave UT. I hope it’s simply the pull of MLB.

Having said that, Danny White is an amazing / top shelf AD who has done wonders with the athletic department at UT. I would hope to keep both!
 
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#359
#359
Bigvalley84 said:
I stated in an earlier post if this happens the only way to salvage the 2026 season is promote Erlander and hopefully half the staff stays with him , we have a ton of MLB talent that could go anywhere they wanted too , a 30 day transfer portal with no one from this existing staff would be brutal in my opinion
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They'd have to sit out this year
 
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#361
#361
taylorvol said:
Same. I’m not saying it’s the sole reason but their relationship is certainly strained. The pull of the Giants and being the first college coach to get the gig is probably too much for normal folks to turn down. CTV isn’t normal. With that said, CTV and Danny White couldn’t be more different. White is a stiff, introverted administrator. CTV is an extroverted free spirit who wants to feel fully supported by his AD, and naturally given the tools to go to Omaha. I don’t think he gets that 100% from Danny White. Plus, I bet TN isn’t in the top 5 of NIL money in baseball in the SEC. That fact alone has to tick off CTV. Maybe Randy Boyd will step in and save the day!
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Some, or all, of what you've posted may be true... but it seems more assumption based than fact based.
 
#363
#363
I think we need to have an understanding with regard to all this talk about loyalty. Coaches are selling their product, their sport, and their team to get people to show up. They are going to give great speeches laced with words like loyalty, commitment, dedication, teamwork, etc. We all believe in loyalty to Tennessee because we either grew up in the area as a Tennessee fan, we picked Tennessee as our college of choice or came to it by another way as a fan.

At the end of the day, on the coaching side of things, this is nothing more than just another business. Coaches, managers, executives, athletic directors, and so on will either take a better opportunity and leave, get relieved of their duties for lack of performance or stay because they enjoy where they are and it’s a good situation for all involved. All three are business decisions by one entity or another, be it the employee or the employer. I don’t expect a coach that never played here or went to school here to have the same loyalty as fans/students/alumni.

Technically, they are in the business world, and they are making a business decision. I believe Tony was completely committed to this job, performed extremely well and put us on the college baseball map in winning a national championship. He did his job, he did what he was asked to do and did it very well. It’s personal to us, but there’s not a one of us on this board that wouldn’t take better pay, a better job or a challenge that we have looked forward to pursuing if it presented itself within our own profession.
 
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#364
#364
taylorvol said:
I don’t think he’s 100% convinced on taking the job. I may be naive and it’s just his agent working out the finer points.
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I think he’s 100% going and it’s just dotting i’s and crossing t’s. That’s why I have no idea why he told his team he hasn’t accepted anything. I think that’s scummy.
 
#365
#365
Volstylexx said:
Women’s basketball loaded up with a top 3 recruiting class this year and currently top 2 in next years class. They definitely got money from somewhere.
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Danny isn’t letting HIS hire not have all the financial advantages. He takes great pride (as well he should) on his hiring decisions as an AD, and will not allow the LV basketball program to fail.
 
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#367
#367
Bigvalley84 said:
I stated in an earlier post if this happens the only way to salvage the 2026 season is promote Erlander and hopefully half the staff stays with him , we have a ton of MLB talent that could go anywhere they wanted too , a 30 day transfer portal with no one from this existing staff would be brutal in my opinion
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All players could enter 30 day portal but would have to sit out 2026 season. Not an ideal choice.
 
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#369
#369
TheMookieMonster said:
Well a college manager has never been hired for a to job, so the whole thing is unprecedented. If he fails, would not shock me to see him in the SEC again in 3-5 years.
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Maybe, five years down the road it will be difficult to catch lightning in a bottle after you've been away from the college game for an extended period. Lord knows what the college game will look like in 5 years.
Let's hope he has a change of heart and stays.
If not best wishes VFL Tony 👍
 
#372
#372
HeuperDrive said:
If true: this is absolutely devastating, and I am very sad, but I ask this board to try not show any bitterness. He’s making a very understandable decision, and I really can’t fault any coach for wanting to get out of college athletics in this day and age.

Thanks for everything, Tony. Good luck in the bigs. We’ll miss you, big man.
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I don’t blame him. But it stings because he always said he was all in on UT. We spent a lot of money on upgrades at LNS that he requested
 
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#374
#374
rocketskates said:
Maybe he’s considering that the longevity plan is much better at Tennessee. He could coach here for the next 20 years. In the MLB you get 2-3 seasons to produce and if you don’t, you’re out. Plus that’s a GM built roster, it’s not like recruiting the players that you want.
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Or, DW may have had a “Oh Crap!” Moment and come in strong to resolve some of the challenges to keeping TV.

DW better at least make the type of offer that if TV leaves, everyone says, “Well, there was just nothing that would have kept him.”

Anything short of that, and there is no excuse for letting the most noteworthy coach at the University go elsewhere.
 
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#375
#375
RockyTop140 said:
I don’t blame him. But it stings because he always said he was all in on UT. We spent a lot of money on upgrades at LNS that he requested
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Oh don’t get me wrong, it stings a bunch. I really hope we can keep him here. We need to send him the biggest offer we can, I don’t want to say goodbye to him at any point.
 
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