Our Fans - Mind Blowing.

[EZE]

Maybe cause Tony inferred as much. Have you read the transcript to his “exit interview”?

Yes, I read it. And, no, I read nothing of the sort. But my imagination may not be as strong as the rest of you.

 

[EZE]

This would be like the Head FB Coach at McCallie HS (Chattanooga) getting an offer to be the Tennessee Head Football Coach during an opening and then all of the McCallie fans blaming the McCallie AD for not being able to keep him and saying "Joel Bradford really liked it at McCallie, I just don't understand why he left." We would be thinking...really, you don't understand why he left?

It's craziness!

No college coach is passing up a managerial position in the MLB especially with a team like the Giants. Who the college AD is at the time is irrelevant. Yes he had to "think" about it. That's what a coach in a good situation should be doing, talking with his family....weighing out pros and cons, because like with Saban and Pitino it doesn't always work out in the pros. They were also likely working out the details of his Giants contract during that time. In the end it was too good to pass up. End of story. How this could be in any way, shape, or form DW's fault is beyond me.

You get it.

 

[volsagain]

I’m not happy with how DW handled things, but in no way do I want our other coaches to fail so that we can fire him. Seriously?

Might help a little coach Barnes shut down all the NIL and profit sharing rumors. I believe the Deacon. He just couldn't turn down a chance to make history. And no one should blame him. Everyone has a right to be disappointed yet we may have just lost the best coach in VOL history.

 

[GVF]

I have told y’all for six years that it is hard becoming a Tennessee fan because of the Tennessee fans. I love the ones that are on here all year long but the ones that show up on bad ball games and especially the last two weeks makes it very hard to become a diehard fan when you didn’t grow up one.

You're not wrong. I can say my love affair goes back to 8th grade and I'm now 60 and have enjoyed all the ups and down and still love orange. Proud not to be in your group of wannabe's.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

If you read Tony’s on comments this morning and still believe this I got nothing for you. He made it pretty clear it had nothing to do with TN or the Athletic department and it was all about his desire to take the next step. Some of our fans just love to be miserable and always have to find someone to blame.

How true.

 

[GVF]

DW never said in the presser that he talked to TV once while all this was going on. I don't know where that keeps coming from. I've also never disagreed that DW's communication style, based on how he himself communicated with TV, sounds kind of aloof and distant. I don't think that necessarily means that he "did nothing" to keep TV or "ran him off," like many are saying. In DW's mind, perhaps he thought making him the highest paid baseball coach and spearheading a nine-figure stadium expansion and reno was making a pretty big effort to keep TV. It wasn't all that long ago that everyone here was heaping praise on DW for doing that, in contrast to previous ADs we had, who many thought wouldn't have done that. There's also scuttlebutt that TV can be difficult to deal with too and can be unreasonable in his demands. I think there's a lot going on here and when you consider it all, combined with the fact that the job is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for Tony, it isn't anybody's "fault."

I don't think TV was "itching to get out the door." I never said that. I said it is a job that he was always going to take. Just because it's an opportunity he was always going to take doesn't mean that it was easy to walk away from his current gig. It's like dropping your kid off at Kindergarten for the first time. Is it hard? Yes. Are you going to linger a little bit, make the hug a little tighter, look at them through the window as you walk away from the classroom? Yes. Are you still going to do drop them off? Yes, because they need to go to school and you need to go to work.

I don't disagree with any of that. And certainly don't disagree with any of those in the surrounding posts saying it's crazy and nothing more than a great offer and acceptance of a lifetime opportunity. Some of my posts may have sounded otherwise, but they weren't. DW is obviously a figure we haven't had in ages around the UTAD. Having said that, I was just saying that may be all it is and more likley than not, but what we've seen publically of it so far just looks off. Maybe it got leaked too early and made it look like it was dragging out while negotiations were going on, and contributed to the strange optics. TV did say in his first release he'd have another concerning the actual SF acceptance, but then kind of rambled around in that release, so optics on that one make it seem he was still awash in what to do. At the same time, i'm just saying if there is something else to it, it sure looks like there's possibly some mishandling or miscommunicating or something. Kind of just watching the traffic in both directions.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

I am making the claim based on White's press conference.

He didn't need to get on his knees.

But it makes no sense, even in a situation where the offer is elite in scope, to allow your best to walk when he hesitates taking that offer.

A failure to communicate with your coaches, people you depend on to keep your athletics program humming, is not something to applaud. Don't care if the offer on the table was from the Giants of San Francisco or the Giants of Tokyo. You don't let your elite coach walk without making a concerted effort to retain him.

At no point in that press conference did Danny White say he made such an effort. Not one time.

Why should he? Most people should know that he wanted to keep TV and he will do a class job in hiring the new coach. He knows how to do his job and 99%+ of us posters would miserably fail if we were in his position.

 

[Volnbeers]

friendly reminder: it is *always* the fans fault!

 

[vol94]

I swear we have the most passionate fans in college sports but half of us are retarded (can I say that?).

It's reasonable to expect our head coaching compensation / packages to be competitive with the SEC. One may even stretch it to, with our resources, we should be getting and keeping the best coaches in college sports. But to EXPECT us to compete with the Yankees, MLB baseball (the GIANTS)...is mental. To say "if we wanted to keep him he'd still be here." when this guy had to him what may be an opportunity of a lifetime...is wildly crazy.

Then to want the AD DW fired...is even more wild. Is there another athletic department in the country who has more athletic programs top 25 ranked year in and year out? If that isn't a taking things for granted and a "be careful what you wish for" situation in the making I don't know what is. Every sport that matters (and some that don't) is, has been recently, is near, or will be top 10 ranked and y'all want the AD fired???? Have y'all lost your minds???

It’s a small faction of fan base making those ludicrous, non sensible comments. Baseball is first for them instead of football and basketball. So, they are blowing off steam knowing damn well White isn’t to blame.

 

[vol66]

Danny may not be to blame for Tony leaving but it was his responsibility to retain him...And he failed. That's a fact.

This.

The 24 hours of feeling morose is over. I’m ready to roll with what we got! Time to quit whining. I miss him too but for now…I’m going full on VOLS!

There’s a bunch of kids that need to make a decision now too. We gotta preach we got you, we’ll be there, win or lose and most importantly…You’ve come to the right place.

Legoooooooooooooo!!!!

GBO!!!

 

[orangemadam]

most posters on VN think everyone else is an idiot except the one doing the posting.

 

[Hunerwadel]

The SF Giants? Hell yeah, I'd hit it. No college coach in their right mind would turn it down IMO.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I have told y’all for six years that it is hard becoming a Tennessee fan because of the Tennessee fans. I love the ones that are on here all year long but the ones that show up on bad ball games and especially the last two weeks makes it very hard to become a diehard fan when you didn’t grow up one.

Would you be privy to the knowledge of Boyd or Plowman directly communicate with Tony after the infamous 1 DW conversation?

Had they defined our best and final offer for DW to share before any involvement?

 

[NighthawkVol]

I swear we have the most passionate fans in college sports but half of us are retarded (can I say that?).

It's reasonable to expect our head coaching compensation / packages to be competitive with the SEC. One may even stretch it to, with our resources, we should be getting and keeping the best coaches in college sports. But to EXPECT us to compete with the Yankees, MLB baseball (the GIANTS)...is mental. To say "if we wanted to keep him he'd still be here." when this guy had to him what may be an opportunity of a lifetime...is wildly crazy.

Then to want the AD DW fired...is even more wild. Is there another athletic department in the country who has more athletic programs top 25 ranked year in and year out? If that isn't a taking things for granted and a "be careful what you wish for" situation in the making I don't know what is. Every sport that matters (and some that don't) is, has been recently, is near, or will be top 10 ranked and y'all want the AD fired???? Have y'all lost your minds???

All based on hearsay.

 

[joevols89]

If you read Tony’s on comments this morning and still believe this I got nothing for you. He made it pretty clear it had nothing to do with TN or the Athletic department and it was all about his desire to take the next step. Some of our fans just love to be miserable and always have to find someone to blame.

Ah yes. Because Tony was totally going to come out and say “I hate Danny White and he lied to me so I left”. Lol.

Tony could’ve left because it was something he wanted to do and it didn’t hurt that he didn’t get along with his boss.

Tony was always going to take the high road.

Tony Vitello to SF Giants (Confirmed)

There's a semi unspoken thing here I think is somewhat plausible. Its next to impossible to source and prove, so most likely don't care and I get that. Its only me trying to fill in gaps in the story based on the few I talk to and what I know. If the baseball RevShare was cut, redirected, or...

www.volnation.com

 

[Batman1948]

What's mind blowing is those that don't listen to baseball players at and connected with the university. Tony didn't want to go. It's not the opportunity of a lifetime if you don't want a job elsewhere and want to stay where you are at. Our sorry athletic director talked with him ONCE in two weeks (have one report that was through another person) which made Tony's mind up that he was being 'helped' out the door by DW. Tony was the face of UT. No other coach here can hold his jock strap with what he has done. DW has alienated a portion of the fan base. If it takes losing in all the sports to get Danny White fired then a lot of us are for it. Karma for Danny White......it can't be soon enough.

You're so full of sh*t that your eyes must be brown. Did you even read anything Tony said about this situation? Just start making sh*t up dude if it makes you happy.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

friendly reminder: it is *always* the fans fault!

Naw, just the bottom feeders. The rational vast majority are pretty reasonable and wait for facts before exercising their mouths and fingers.

 

[livefaith]

I swear we have the most passionate fans in college sports but half of us are retarded (can I say that?).

It's reasonable to expect our head coaching compensation / packages to be competitive with the SEC. One may even stretch it to, with our resources, we should be getting and keeping the best coaches in college sports. But to EXPECT us to compete with the Yankees, MLB baseball (the GIANTS)...is mental. To say "if we wanted to keep him he'd still be here." when this guy had to him what may be an opportunity of a lifetime...is wildly crazy.

Then to want the AD DW fired...is even more wild. Is there another athletic department in the country who has more athletic programs top 25 ranked year in and year out? If that isn't a taking things for granted and a "be careful what you wish for" situation in the making I don't know what is. Every sport that matters (and some that don't) is, has been recently, is near, or will be top 10 ranked and y'all want the AD fired???? Have y'all lost your minds???

Nailed it sir. We have some folks here that fit the description made by that legendary American philosopher, Clark W Griswold, who eloquently stated ... "My cousin in-law (Eddie), whose heart is bigger than his brain".

Philosophy by Griswold

 

[CAVPUT]

I swear we have the most passionate fans in college sports but half of us are retarded (can I say that?).

It's reasonable to expect our head coaching compensation / packages to be competitive with the SEC. One may even stretch it to, with our resources, we should be getting and keeping the best coaches in college sports. But to EXPECT us to compete with the Yankees, MLB baseball (the GIANTS)...is mental. To say "if we wanted to keep him he'd still be here." when this guy had to him what may be an opportunity of a lifetime...is wildly crazy.

Then to want the AD DW fired...is even more wild. Is there another athletic department in the country who has more athletic programs top 25 ranked year in and year out? If that isn't a taking things for granted and a "be careful what you wish for" situation in the making I don't know what is. Every sport that matters (and some that don't) is, has been recently, is near, or will be top 10 ranked and y'all want the AD fired???? Have y'all lost your minds???

Always the fans at fault.

 

[vol94]

You are the one making the claim that he didn't try and keep him or that they had one conversation. I am not making claims either way about that. I thought that DW came off poorly in that presser, but you are reading things into various statements he made based on that fact that you've already come to the conclusion as to what happened. DW never said or implied the things you are claiming he said.

What I can't get past with this situation, as much as it sucks, is that even if DW got down on his knees and kissed TV's shoes begging him to stay I don't think he was going to. TV just accepted one of the 5 or 6 best jobs that exist in his line of work. He wasn't going to say no. It doesn't mean that the decision wasn't hard, because I do think the guy genuinely loves Tennessee. But he never was going to say no to this particular job. It's just too big of an opportunity, no matter how much he loved his current gig.

If TV left for any other college job, or for a really crappy MLB job, then I'd be right there with the mob wondering if we had a chance to retain him but screwed something up. However, in this case, the job he left for is the reason why he left.

Well said / 10000 likes

 

[vol94]

I have told y’all for six years that it is hard becoming a Tennessee fan because of the Tennessee fans. I love the ones that are on here all year long but the ones that show up on bad ball games and especially the last two weeks makes it very hard to become a diehard fan when you didn’t grow up one.

Happens everywhere with aTm being one exception


I lived in VA in 70s -1992 - fans always upset anout VA tech football

• UVA- fans wanted Holland’s head b/c he couldn’t get Ralph Sampson led teams to final
Four

I lived in Raleigh 1997-2000.

•UNC - Mack Brown put UNC football in top 5 1997-1999. Fans all over him b/c couldn’t beat FL state. They complained 364 days a yr

•UNC Dean smith- fans wanted him fired until he won a natty in 1982.


•Bama- insane fan base too. Turned on Stallings few yrs removed from 1992 natty. His seat was on fire after losing to TN in 1995.

• Ohio st - national Champs. Rarely lose a game. Their fan base is still complaining about the loss vs. Michigan 11 months ago. They won the natty!

There are countless more - FL, Clemson, Auburn….

Great fan bases are passionate, however, they will turn on a coach over night if you lose. It doesn’t make it right, but it’s still the best overall fan base in the country. And, most coaches appreciate it as we support sports beyond football and basketball.

 

[vol94]

What's mind blowing is those that don't listen to baseball players at and connected with the university. Tony didn't want to go. It's not the opportunity of a lifetime if you don't want a job elsewhere and want to stay where you are at. Our sorry athletic director talked with him ONCE in two weeks (have one report that was through another person) which made Tony's mind up that he was being 'helped' out the door by DW. Tony was the face of UT. No other coach here can hold his jock strap with what he has done. DW has alienated a portion of the fan base. If it takes losing in all the sports to get Danny White fired then a lot of us are for it. Karma for Danny White......it can't be soon enough.

So untrue. Tony wanted to go to MLB once he was approached . White had a conversation with him. Money wasn’t a factor. If so, Danny white would have written a ck.

No im not an insider nor present for meetings. But i believe the person who works for Spyre.

Edit - things Happen in life. It does NOT have to be someone’s fault. I’m happy for Coach and trust AD White. He is one of the best AD’s in the NCAA.

Edit- Coach wasn’t pursuing a MLB job, but once San Fran called, he had to answer.

 

[BigALWiLson]

What's mind blowing is those that don't listen to baseball players at and connected with the university. Tony didn't want to go. It's not the opportunity of a lifetime if you don't want a job elsewhere and want to stay where you are at. Our sorry athletic director talked with him ONCE in two weeks (have one report that was through another person) which made Tony's mind up that he was being 'helped' out the door by DW. Tony was the face of UT. No other coach here can hold his jock strap with what he has done. DW has alienated a portion of the fan base. If it takes losing in all the sports to get Danny White fired then a lot of us are for it. Karma for Danny White......it can't be soon enough.

If he didn't want it, he wouldn't have taken the damn job. He listened to the offer and accepted it. No one forced that man to go to San Fran. He had the funding, he had the facilities and he had the support to win here as noted with College World Series Championship. That said he probably even had the staying power to outlast DW as AD and retire here if he wanted to really do that. The only two people on earth that know what really happened or what was talked about between DW and Tony will likely never speak of their conversations. Media half ass gets anything right and both of them play their hands close to the vest. Let's see how the search shakes out and chill out.

 

[a vol n tears]

I don't want Danny White fired. Believe he will hire a good coach.

I also do not believe it is much to ask that an athletic director, at a point when his best coach hesitates at taking what is a unique and special opportunity in his sport, communicates with that coach to see if anything can be done to keep him at Tennessee.

I swear some of you were the same folks running cover for the likes Mike Hamilton and Jeremy Pruitt. Were they still in charge, I have little doubt you would still be treating them like gods.

Has anyone thought that when Danny did talk with Tony, one/ both agreed to just let Tony have time to think. If this was my decision I’d want time without any outside noise

 

[LordVOLdemort]

Farhh the fans!!

I wish. We could just use my ignore list for starters.