Tony Vitello to SF Giants (Confirmed)

[TheMookieMonster]

I simply can’t imagine a $3 million buyout is going to prevent an organization that made $553 million in 2024 from hiring their guy. If that truly is the only hang up, he’s gone.

 

[Adam Sandler]

People dont wanna believe Tony may want to leave for a better job....so they gotta blame someone at UT for him leaving

I don’t think it’s a better job but it’s not my decision to make so who cares I guess. Not my story, not my path, not my decision.

If Tony leaves I will hope it works out for him. But I won’t be sorry if it doesn’t. He has the choice to live by his own words: “You’re either a Vol or you’re not.”

I truly hope he decides to be a Vol.

 

[taylorvol]

That isn’t Charlie. Though both the poster to whom you are responding and the player to whom you refer both seem like fine human beings.

Well thank you sir. I can attest that Charlie Taylor is indeed a fine young man and a Wesleyan graduate. Me, I have my moments.

 

[Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va]

He doesn’t say what I like, so he’s no good.

Good grief.

Sorry, but I have a thing against clout chasers who just want to stir the pot to stroke their own ego or grow their own brand.

Same reason I dislike that ambulance chaser Basilio

 

[RandomUTfan]

Just now? And I’m curious how that’ll work. I’m hoping they make their final offer and we have a chance to counter.

34 minutes ago.

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

I simply can’t imagine a $3 million buyout is going to prevent an organization that made $553 million in 2024 from hiring their guy. If that truly is the only hang up, he’s gone.

I personally think it’s been a done deal for a bit. No one who knows they’re not leaving lets things go on this long. He would have tampered the flames by now.

I just like to hold onto hope that I’m wrong.

 

[Adam Sandler]

It’s one thing to take a job. It’s another to have your AD get under your skin to the point that you open the channels to taking calls. Or, to opening your mind to entertaining feelers. This idea that college colleges see themselves as something less, and are all sitting by the phone like a school girl waiting for the cute boy to call, is just utter nonsense.

I appreciate the position that some see this as an opportunity, but I think you are missing how these opportunities materialize.

I don’t think it’s near the opportunity as the one right before him. Just sayin.

 

[taylorvol]

Some outraged fans apparently have sent a moving van to Danny White’s home.



just kidding...

 

[RandomUTfan]

I get it. They’ll have to pay him a lot just to match what he makes at Tennessee, and he’s a gamble as it is to succeed at all. Hope they come to their senses for both our sakes lol

The longer this has gone on, the funnier the idea that San Francisco would actually make that hire gets. Tony is 5 years older than Justin Verlander. It doesn't make much sense, nor would taking a likely pay cut to start getting your checks signed in California.

 

[VolGee4]

I simply can’t imagine a $3 million buyout is going to prevent an organization that made $553 million in 2024 from hiring their guy. If that truly is the only hang up, he’s gone.

That’s not the hang up. The hang up is TV wanting $5-$6 million per year with at least a 3 year deal and paying the buyout.

I don’t know squat, but common sense comes into play. TV isn’t going to move for those taxes and costs and risk what he has for just a little raise. He knows UT will pay him $3+ million (probably could get a raise now) for almost his career.

 

[RandomUTfan]

Some outraged fans apparently have sent a moving van to Danny White’s home.



just kidding...

I probably would have sent one that will just sit still.

 

[RandomUTfan]

That’s not the hang up. The hang up is TV wanting $5-$6 million per year with at least a 3 year deal and paying the buyout.

I don’t know squat, but common sense comes into play. TV isn’t going to move for those taxes and costs and risk what he has for just a little raise. He knows UT will pay him $3+ million (probably could get a raise now) for almost his career.

Pretty easy to write off the idea this is about money.

 

[patrick]

This situation is very different than Schiano Sunday.

Indeed. Tony V is a generational college baseball coach. And DW is an AD - not a coach.

 

[taylorvol]

I personally think it’s been a done deal for a bit. No one who knows they’re not leaving lets things go on this long. He would have tampered the flames by now.

I just like to hold onto hope that I’m wrong.

Likely just the final stages of negotiation…revised proposals with counters going on both with the Giants and UT. Jimmy Sexton is likely playing both like a drum. BTW, his clients rave about him. Saban trusts him like a brother. Jimmy is the king of college football. It’s very unusual to rep a baseball coach. Of course we know CTV isn’t a typical baseball coach.

 

[@1RBFjr]

Yes, he is. He is nothing but a local writer who wrote a book that was nearly all publicly available information. Now it looks like he is trying to peddle some new rag. It’s like saying Tyler Ivens is an insider.

There are like 2 or 3 semi trustable sources for inside info and he isn’t one of them.

He was with WATE sports a number of years ago. He’s been TDOT spokesman for east Tennessee since then.

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

Likely just the final stages of negotiation…revised proposals with counters going on both with the Giants and UT. Jimmy Sexton is likely playing both like a drum. BTW, his clients rave about him. Saban trusts him like a brother. Jimmy is the king of college football. It’s very unusual to rep a baseball coach. Of course we know CTV isn’t a typical baseball coach.

Perhaps. But I still think, when all is said and done, we find out the decision was made Saturday and just wasn’t made official for whatever reason.

 

[Volnuck]

Do you think Tony would adapt well to losing 80 games a year? I don’t.

I think Tony is pretty dang smart. He can be the Saban of college baseball. If we get the NIL set, Tony will take this through the roof.

Go to the pro’s and don’t have to deal with NIL or transfers. Plus more money. It’s the Saban effect, he did not want to talk to kids about money and playing time When recruiting them.

 

[Adam Sandler]

But what’s with the discord thing? Writing a book about this situation, I guess?

Self promotion

 

[patrick]

I simply can’t imagine a $3 million buyout is going to prevent an organization that made $553 million in 2024 from hiring their guy. If that truly is the only hang up, he’s gone.

The potential hiring of a college baseball coach - even though a great one - without any MLB experience is unprecedented. In addition it’s not that easy to make buyout decisions when dealing with ownership syndicates - there may be some in the syndicate that don’t want to throw that kind of money at a manager with no MLB experience - here is a look at the syndicate:

The San Francisco Giants are owned by a syndicate of 35 partners, with Greg Johnson serving as the team's control person and Charles B. Johnson holding the largest stake. Other principal partners include Buster Posey, former Giants catcher, and private equity firm Arctos Partners. In 2025, the team sold a 10% stake to the private equity firm Sixth Street.

• Control Person: Greg Johnson, son of principal owner Charles B. Johnson.
  
  
• Principal Owner: Charles B. Johnson, former CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments.
  
  
• • Other Principal Partners:
    • • Buster Posey, a former Giants catcher and a member of the board of directors.
        
      • Arctos Partners, a private equity firm.
        
      • Sixth Street, a global investment firm that purchased a 10% stake in March 2025.
        
  • President and CEO: Larry Baer, who oversees the day-to-day operations.
    
  • President of Baseball Operations: Buster Posey, a former catcher who is now leading baseball operations.
    
  • Other Owners: The group includes approximately 35 partners in total.

 

[TN-POSSUM]

If I wasn’t all-consumed by the concern of losing TV and the understandable depression due to what transpired in Tuscaloosa, the decision would be made by now!


maybe we ought to blame DW for that too!

 

[patrick]

Go to the pro’s and don’t have to deal with NIL or transfers. Plus more money. It’s the Saban effect, he did not want to talk to kids about money and playing time When recruiting them.

Many college coaches like the portal. They can retool their rosters year to year and replace underperforming players. Thats one of the reasons they aren’t agreeing to multi year deals - at least for now.

 

[taylorvol]

The potential hiring of a college baseball coach - even though a great one - without any MLB experience is unprecedented. In addition it’s not that easy to make buyout decisions when dealing with ownership syndicates - there may be some in the syndicate that don’t want to throw that kind of money at a manager with no MLB experience - here is a look at the syndicate:

The San Francisco Giants are owned by a syndicate of 35 partners, with Greg Johnson serving as the team's control person and Charles B. Johnson holding the largest stake. Other principal partners include Buster Posey, former Giants catcher, and private equity firm Arctos Partners. In 2025, the team sold a 10% stake to the private equity firm Sixth Street.

• Control Person: Greg Johnson, son of principal owner Charles B. Johnson.
  
  
• Principal Owner: Charles B. Johnson, former CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments.
  
  
• • Other Principal Partners:
    • • Buster Posey, a former Giants catcher and a member of the board of directors.
      • Arctos Partners, a private equity firm.
      • Sixth Street, a global investment firm that purchased a 10% stake in March 2025.
  • President and CEO: Larry Baer, who oversees the day-to-day operations.
  • President of Baseball Operations: Buster Posey, a former catcher who is now leading baseball operations.
  • Other Owners: The group includes approximately 35 partners in total.

Sounds like a nightmare of bureaucracy with layers of SOPs and required approvals. CTV would hate it.

 

[Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va]

Likely just the final stages of negotiation…revised proposals with counters going on both with the Giants and UT. Jimmy Sexton is likely playing both like a drum. BTW, his clients rave about him. Saban trusts him like a brother. Jimmy is the king of college football. It’s very unusual to rep a baseball coach. Of course we know CTV isn’t a typical baseball coach.

Sexton is about to get his 5th vacation house out of the upcoming coaching carousel in college football

 

[VolFan_stuck_in_the_901]

Sexton is about to get his 5th vacation house out of the upcoming coaching carousel in college football

He only has 5??? I thought for sure he had double that many

 

[taylorvol]

Sexton is about to get his 5th vacation house out of the upcoming coaching carousel in college football

Another UT grad that has done quite well for himself. By most accounts, he’s a pretty solid guy.