Vols Hire New Baseball Coach - Tony Vitello

#26
#26
Don't know much about the new coach, but he knows exactly what he's getting into, and he's clearly checked all the boxes pertaining to recruiting, development, and SEC competition to earn this opportunity.

His absence from the speculation and rumors about the position says good things about Currie's ability to conduct an independent and discreet search.

And it offers a reminder that the college baseball reporters who crank out candidate lists within minutes of vacancies being announced often don't know what they're talking about.
 
#28
#28
I like him from a recruiting point of view. Let's see how managing a program and the other pieces fall in place including support from the AD.

He obviously wasn't the first choice but glad we found someone with ties to the SEC.
 
#31
#31
Currie kept this entire search under the radar. Not one of the local talking heads/writers had even mentioned Vitello as a candidate.

I like that they went after a guy with great recruiting ability and a guy who is an offensive coach, and not a pitching coach. The SEC has become a hitter league. There are good pitching coaches out there who can be hired.
 
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#32
#32
Good job John Currie. I enjoyed how this search was conducted and the fact that it ended up being somebody we all were not dreading, I can give him a thumbs up. It appears to check all the boxes that we needed in the job. He's a younger guy with no HC experience, but he's worked through the ranks and been a part of some very good baseball programs under some amazing coaches. He's a great recruiter and has SEC experience. I think he'll translate well to our current players and will be very well liked by recruits. In my opinion, being able to connect to players and recruits and the ability to relate will help our program alone, especially on the recruiting trail.

It still is a risk, but what isn't in college coaching anymore. At least it is a solid choice and gives our baseball program the chance to succeed. I appreciate that Currie did not simply give in to big money donors and did his homework. He did not rush the search, kept it quiet, and got us a solid head coach that fit the needs for our baseball program. Plus paying $495,000/yr shows me that Currie is not afraid to actually spend some money to get a good coach. Great job!
 
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#33
#33
fryeguy93 said:
Good job by the AD.

Exactly how a coaching search should be run

What's funny is Vitello is about the same age as Chris Burke, but has actually proved he wants a HC job by coming up through the ranks.

When he is successful, are we to worry that Mizzou will want him?

Great problem to have.
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Why not Burke, or Todd Helton ????
Seems that the power ppl at the top are against anyone who has been associated with Tn.is ignored
 
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#35
#35
Volfanj1398 said:
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Why not Burke, or Todd Helton ????
Seems that the power ppl at the top are against anyone who has been associated with Tn.is ignored
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Helton wasn't interested. Burke was and I am sure he would have done a great job. The problem is that he didn't have any college baseball coaching experience. If he did, he would have been the leading candidate.
 
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#36
#36
Volfanj1398 said:
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Why not Burke, or Todd Helton ????
Seems that the power ppl at the top are against anyone who has been associated with Tn.is ignored
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I think the better question is why Burke or Todd Helton? I loved those guys as players. They have no coaching experience or recruiting ties. A recipe for failure in my opinion. Go Vols!
 
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#37
#37
OldTimer said:
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looks like Currie gave him a multipole choice test and he aced it! Need to work on the shape of orange........

Excited about the hire, best of luck Tony and GBO!
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First off, mulitpole? Really?

Nothing like signing a multimillion dollar contract in what looks like a food court.
 
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#38
#38
Do baseball head coaches do most of the recruiting or do assistants do it? Yes, it's nice that this guy has recruiting chops---but let's not call him a "solid head coach," as one poster did, as he's not been a head coach before. That is significant. It's not to say that I don't like this hire, only that he'll be a question mark for a couple of years, as every hire would be. That he's fairly young and has good SEC experience are pluses, for sure.
 
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#39
#39
armchair said:
Do baseball head coaches do most of the recruiting or do assistants do it? Yes, it's nice that this guy has recruiting chops---but let's not call him a "solid head coach," as one poster did, as he's not been a head coach before. That is significant. It's not to say that I don't like this hire, only that he'll be a question mark for a couple of years, as every hire would be. That he's fairly young and has good SEC experience are pluses, for sure.
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Read the bio on the Arkansas site about him. He's had experience top to bottom with both successful teams and successful players. While solid head coach might be a stretch, I'd say solid, experienced coach is a very fair description. In game management in baseball is hardly rocket science in baseball. If he's a solid coach and can help recruit talented guys, I'd say that trumps head coaching experience.
 
#40
#40
I'd start with good recruiter. There's a ton of DI talent in the state and getting our fair share of those is job 1. He's developed a Golden Spikes and a Clemons Award winner. Not bad on the development box of the resume. Baseball X's and O's in the SEC are power hitting and power pitching. Go get those guys and turn em loose.
 
#41
#41
He doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. One of you guys should make him one
 
#42
#42
Hope he is an all time great but nothing says this is a great hire or a bad one. Just another shot in the dark that he hopes hits the target.
 
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#43
#43
I'm interested to see the staff he brings along. He must have built some strong relationships at Mizzou and Ark so maybe we get some solid assistants along with him.
 
#44
#44
Good job, AD Currie. Surprisingly good hire. Without the players you have no shot to win anything. That's CTV's forte. Worked under some good coaches and has paid his dues in the SEC. He's ready.
 
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#45
#45
LocoVol said:
Hope he is an all time great but nothing says this is a great hire or a bad one. Just another shot in the dark that he hopes hits the target.
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This hire shows A) that Currie isn't willing to be pulled by the masses (Burke) or boosters (if Lawson part was true) B) he got a guy in place who knows what successful teams in this league look like C) he got a guy who knows the challenges of this particular job as it relates to this league D) he got a guy who's proven he can recruit talent from anywhere and can develop said talent E) he got a guy who isn't even 40 and already has 15 years of P5 D-1 experience. This is the exact same kind of hire as Mingione and Cannizzaro were except Vitello has more big boy baseball experience. Outside of Calvi or Bakich who had SEC experience and HC'ing experience I think this is one of the best hires we could've made.
 
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#46
#46
bowlinggreenvol said:
This hire shows A) that Currie isn't willing to be pulled by the masses (Burke) or boosters (if Lawson part was true) B) he got a guy in place who knows what successful teams in this league look like C) he got a guy who knows the challenges of this particular job as it relates to this league D) he got a guy who's proven he can recruit talent from anywhere and can develop said talent E) he got a guy who isn't even 40 and already has 15 years of P5 D-1 experience. This is the exact same kind of hire as Mingione and Cannizzaro were except Vitello has more big boy baseball experience. Outside of Calvi or Bakich who had SEC experience and HC'ing experience I think this is one of the best hires we could've made.
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I agree with all of this. Looking forward to 2018!
 
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