SF Giants president Buster Posey is taking a big swing by hiring the first ever college coach with no MLB experience whatsoever as the team’s new manager, as University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello will now manage the Giants.  

When the San Francisco Giants fired manager Bob Melvin after two mediocre seasons, it was on Giants longtime All-Star catcher and now team President Buster Posey to pick the replacement. And now exactly 24 days after Melvin was fired, the Chronicle reports that the Giants have hired the University of Tennessee’s college coach Tony Vitello as the team’s new manager. The Chron describes Vitello as “the first manager in baseball to jump from college right to the top professional coaching job.”

“Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative, and most respected coaches in college baseball today,” Posey said in a prepared statement. “Throughout our search, Tony’s leadership, competitiveness, and commitment to developing players stood out. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball.”

The 47-year-old Vitello most recently turned Tennessee’s program from a perennial doormat to making the College World Series three times, and winning it all in 2024. He was previously an assistant with Arkansas, TCU, and his alma mater Missouri.  

As the New York Times points out, though, Vitello has no Major League Baseball experience whatsoever, as he went straight from playing college baseball to being a college assistant coach. The 162-game schedule will be quite the adjustment for him, as college teams only play 56 games.

But Vitello got quite the endorsement from Toronto Blue Jays All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer, who’s heading to his fifth World Series on Friday, and had Vitello as an assistant coach at Missouri.

“It’s the competitiveness. It’s the fire. It’s the intensity,” Scherzer told the Times. “And it’s the communication skills. He makes it so relatable. He’s such a players’ guy. He makes you want to run through a brick wall for him.”

Technically, there have been a couple college coaches who went straight to being an MLB manager, but all of them had at least some Major League Baseball experience. As the Times points out, New York Yankees hired Florida State coach Dick Howser as their manager in 1980, and the California Angels hired Arizona State coach Bobby Winkles as their manager in 1973. But both had previously been assistants with Major League teams, while Vitello has never held any position in Major League Baseball.

The Giants will introduce Vitello as their new manager at a press conference next Thursday, October 30.

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Image: FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - JUNE 08: Head Coach Tony Vitello of the Tennessee Volunteers during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium at George Cole Field during the NCAA Baseball Super Regional - Fayetteville on June 08, 2025 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Volunteers 11-4. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)