SF Giants manager Tony Vitello re-litigates end of Tennessee tenure out of nowhere

Speaking to reporters on Monday, new SF Giants manager Tony Vitello oddly brought up the circumstances surrounding the end of his tenure at the University of Tennessee. It’s unclear what prompted this, but it was strange nonetheless.

Right as his media availability was starting, Vitello asked San Francisco Chronicle reporter Susan Slusser, unprompted, when she felt like Vitello was for sure going to take the job to be the next manager of the Giants. She said about four or five days before it was confirmed, likely referring to when the bombshell report from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic dropped which reported that the Giants were zeroing in on the University of Tennessee coach.

Tony Vitello oddly brings up end of his tenure with Tennessee

Vitello vehemently disagreed with that timeline, saying that he was not totally certain that he was going to leave Tennessee until several days after that report. He made it clear that he wanted to touch base with coaches on his staff before making a decision and was clearly irritated that the report came out when it did and that he had to address it with his team.

The full exchange can be watched here.

Really, it was just odd that Vitello brought this up seemingly out of nowhere. He referred to it as "therapy" for leaving Tennessee at one point in the video so obviously it is something that is still on his mind.

Another reporter questioned, “Why do you ask?” He replied that someone tweeted it out, apparently still upset that the news leaked before he was ready to make a decision. He even went so far as to say that it "could have changed the course of history" had he known who broke the news.

It would have been more understandable if he cleared up his timeline and version of events at his introductory  press conference or at some other point prior to the start of spring training, but to do it a few days into the start of camp is a little bit odd to say the least.

The end of the video is particularly weird. He says, referring to the Giants organization, "Ultimately, sorry to rain on your parade. Great organization, great people to work with, and a great challenge, so...I didn't say no."

He didn't say no? That's quite a ringing endorsement.

Maybe this is reading too much between the lines, but it is possible that he is insinuating that he felt somewhat forced to take the Giants job after that report came out. Or at least that he was unable to accept the job on his own terms when his mind was not fully made up.

It’s completely understandable that Vitello did not take the decision to leave Tennessee lightly. He built that school into a powerhouse and became a rock star in Knoxville because of it. Of course he would have liked to leave on his own terms but that's just not how things always work. News leaks and things do not go as planned and you have to roll with the punches. No one forced him to take the job.

If he's upset about news leaking before he wants it to, then he is in for a rude awakening dealing with media on a different level in professional baseball where he will face even greater scrutiny.

It's okay to be frustrated about how things played out, but to be bringing it up unprompted a few days into camp when his mind should be on the best way to win games as manager of the Giants just sends a strange signal to the team and fans in San Francisco.