Tony Vitello is worried about being branded a traitor for leaving Tennessee in order to take the San Francisco Giants manager job.
Vitello issued his first public statement since being confirmed as the new manager of the Giants. He took the opportunity to express his love for Tennessee, and said he hoped that his “selfish” decision to leave did not put him in league with the likes of Lane Kiffin in Knoxville.
“Anything to do with San Francisco, anything to do with Tennessee, at the end of the day, it was not relevant to the decision. It was selfish. It was personal reasons,” Vitello said, via Ben McKee of 247Sports. “Again, I’ve always tried to be a good teammate, but I feel like I made a selfish decision that was one I needed to make.
“It’s the right decision and I just hope it doesn’t give me Lane Kiffin status around here, because I feel like I’m a VFL. I think if someone truly invests in being a VFL for any amount of time, they’re just that — a Vol For Life. That’s what I am in my mind.”
Kiffin famously left Tennessee in 2010 after one season in order to replace Pete Carroll at USC. Vols fans never forgave him for that, even after a decade had passed.
The differences between Vitello and Kiffin are stark. Kiffin went 7-6 in his lone season in Knoxville, while Vitello stuck around for eight years and won a championship. Plus, he left for a very rare opportunity as opposed to going to another college program, and only did so after bringing immense success to the Vols. Vols fans are going to be disappointed that he is leaving, but this situation is much easier to justify than Kiffin’s was.
