'I don't think that was really one of his goals' - Tony Vitello's dad details the decision to leave to Tennessee for MLB

There's been plenty of speculation over the last week about why Tony Vitello left the Tennessee Vols to become the new manager of the the San Francisco Giants.

Vitello, after all, had arguably the best job in college baseball. And he left it for the volatility of an MLB manager’s job.

Some folks have suggested that Vitello didn’t have the best relationship with Tennessee athletic director Danny White, which ultimately led to his decision to take the job with the Giants.

On3's Chris Low even said during an appearance on WNML’s Josh and Swain that he believes "there was a way for this not to happen".

Vitello’s dad, Greg, however, suggested during an interview with Fox 2 Now in St. Louis that it was the allure of taking on a new challenge that drove the decision.

Tony Vitello's dad, Greg, details the decision to leave to Tennessee for the San Francisco Giants

"Very much so," said Greg to Fox 2 Now when asked if it was a tough decision for Tony to leave Tennessee. "That town just pretty much took him over. He was a rock star [on] Rocky Top, and people just almost genuflected in front of him. That's how popular he was. But I think all college coaches right now, they're in a quandary with the NIL and the transfer portal and even the recruiting business. It's really, really changed the whole face of college athletics."

"There's people that said, 'You need a new challenge.' And yeah, he could have stayed there and racked up maybe more wins and been the winningest coach ever at Tennessee, but I don't think that was really one of his goals -- to be the winningest coach or to have the most money. I think he was looking for a new challenge. And this, obviously, is a new challenge."

Greg went on to add that Peyton Manning was one of the people who encouraged Vitello to take the job with the Giants.

"He was, yeah, he really was," said Greg when asked if Peyton was one of the people that advised Vitello to take the job. "They've become very close. And he's been a little bit of a guidance factor for Tony. But there's a number of people that said, 'Hey, you gotta take this job.'"

Greg also noted that some MLB teams had shown interest in Vitello in recent years, but Tony wanted to win a national championship and "complete" the job at Tennessee before even entertaining the idea of leaving.

Vitello certainly completed the job at Tennessee -- delivering the first national championship in program history. Now we'll see if he can complete the job in San Francisco.

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