Tony Vitello reveals when he wanted to hire Jayce Tingler to SF Giants coaching staff

One of the first moves Tony Vitello made after taking the SF Giants managerial gig was bringing in Jayce Tingler as the bench coach. On Saturday, Vitello revealed that he had considered adding Tingler to his coaching staff even before taking the job.

Tony Vitello reveals when he wanted to hire Jayce Tingler to SF Giants coaching staff

Vitello was not quite sure what his next move was going to be when the Giants broached him about taking over as manager. He was excited for the role, but it was also difficult leaving the comfort of what he built behind.

There was also a stretch of a few days where Giants fans were intently watching the University of Tennessee fall practices, hoping that Vitello would tip his hand about his next move. He never tipped his hand, but it made for an entertaining subplot.

During that process, Vitello reached out to numerous people to discuss the opportunity. This included Tingler. Vitello and Tingler have known each for about 25 years. They played baseball at the University of Missouri in the early 2000's.

After that, they went in separate directions, but remained in contact. Tingler was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 2003 draft. When his playing career concluded, he moved into a coaching role. This included a stint as the San Diego Padres manager. Over the past four years, he had served as a bench coach for the Minnesota Twins.

On the other hand, Vitello moved into coaching once his college career came to a close. He became the University of Tennessee's head coach in 2017, and built it up to be one of the best college programs in the country.

Vitello was asked how soon after he took the Giants' job that he considered Tingler to be his bench coach. The new Giants manager replied with, "It was prior to [accepting the offer]." He added that Tingler was an important voice in talking him through this process, "He [Tingler] was helping me with that."

Vitello mentioned that there was an undertone in his discussions with Tingler that they would eventually work together. Of course, that came to fruition almost as soon as Vitello took over. While the Giants finalized the coaching staff right before spring training, Tingler has been working with the club throughout the entire offseason. Evidently, that relationship was bound to happen even before Vitello accepted the role.