Tony Vitello Mentioned in San Francisco Giants Manager Search by The Athletic

On Monday, the San Francisco Giants parted ways with manager Bob Melvin after two seasons. The Giants missed the 2025 postseason and finished with an 81-81 record this season. 

Andrew Baggarly from The Athletic published an article detailing potential candidates who can replace him. Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello came up as an “out-of-the-box” name.  

Vitello wrapped up his eighth season with Tennessee in 2025. He has a career record of 341-141 for the Volunteers and led the team to the 2024 NCAA Championship.  

He has also led Tennessee to five straight super regional appearances, which is something no college baseball program has ever done before.  

What Baggarly Said Regarding Vitello in San Francisco 

Along with being an “out-of-the-box” name, Baggarly mentioned that Vitello transformed Tennessee from a Southeastern Conference bottom-feeder into perhaps the most talented program in the country. 

He also mentioned that Vitello has no managing experience at the Major League Baseball level. This would be a rare jump for a college coach to make.  

Pat Murphy Referenced for Past NCAA Experience  

Baggarly went on to mention that current Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was formerly the head coach at Arizona State and turned out to be successful in his own right.  

The Brewers are the No. 1 overall seed in the National League for the 2025 postseason.  

However, it is important to note that Murphy left Arizona State in 2009. He then joined the San Diego Padres as a baseball operations assistant and stayed there until he joined the Brewers organization in 2015 as the bench coach.  

He became Milwaukee’s manager for the 2024 season after the former manager, Craig Counsell, left to join the Chicago Cubs.   

Vitello’s Current Tennessee Contract, Drew Gilbert Connection 

Residing in Knoxville, Tenn., Vitello is currently the second-highest paid coach in college baseball behind only LSU’s Jay Johnson. He has a $3 million salary that runs through the 2029 college baseball season.  

In both a managerial and financial manner, Vitello is at the top of the college baseball world.  

If you are looking for a further connection between the Tennessee head coach and the Giants, there is rookie outfielder Drew Gilbert.  

Gilbert played under Vitello at Tennessee from 2020-22.  

He was an All-American player who led the Volunteers to the College World Series in 2021 and won an SEC regular season and tournament championship in 2022.  

The 25-year-old made his debut for San Francisco on August 8 and went on to get 100 at-bats during the 2025 MLB season. He had 19 hits, three home runs, and 13 RBI.  

Other Managing Candidates for San Francisco 

Before mentioning Vitello, Baggarly also brought up Bruce Bochy and Skip Schumaker as candidates for the Giants’ manager job who are currently at the Major League Baseball level. 

Bochy and the Texas Rangers decided to mutually part ways after the 2025 regular season. 

He not only led the Rangers to the World Series championship in 2023 but also led San Francisco to three World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014. He is also the winningest active manager.  

Meanwhile, Schumaker is also in Texas as an advisor to the president of baseball operations for the Rangers. He was formerly the manager of the Miami Marlins in 2023 and 2024. 

In 2023, he won the National League Manager of the Year award.  

Important to Note 

It is vital to realize that Baggarly described Vitello as an “out-of-the-box” candidate for San Francisco’s manager position.  

There are plenty of names with experience at the MLB level on the table who will be considered heavily due to the rarity of a giant leap from college coach to MLB manager.  

Vitello is in one of the best positions of any coach in college baseball, and a career-changing move like this is something that can only be speculated about. 

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PHOTO: Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello (22) watches a Notre Dame home run in the first inning during an NCAA college baseball super regional game Friday, June 10, 2022, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Randy Sartin)