Tony Vitello Explains Why He Doesn't Want to Be Like Lane Kiffin in Knoxville

"Going to another page here of sloppy notes, just to throw out decision stuff. I can’t be more sincere in saying my decision, if it mattered to people — which blows my mind as a scrub walk-on at the University of Missouri — I appreciate that. If you’re wondering what this or that, what it has to do with the team or anything —  there was a lot of factors. Like that is a brand new stadium I’m going to miss out on. 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. 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," said Vitello when speaking to the media."

He then went into detail about how he believes he is a VFL.

"I think one thing we coach our players up on is peace of mind and you make your own decisions. You create your own definition of success. For me, I’m a VFL. Which made me think, driving around last night, why would somebody want to be a VFL? Why do people love being a VFL? I’ve got a few reasons listed that may or may not be of interest to you all, but helps me get off my chest."

He then listed two reasons back to back. Here is what was said.

"Just the people are friendly and welcoming here. It’s different. When I first got hired people asked me from all over the world that I got to meet through baseball, ‘What’s it like there? What’s your first impression?’ That was my immediate, first instinct answer. People in the state of Tennessee are different. They’re friendly, they’re welcoming and it’s an environment that anybody would want to be in a workplace or social setting or to raise a family or just be. The other thing is the growth. It’s not as long as I wish it was, but there’s a lot of time I’ve been here and around the beautiful mountains and the rivers and the lakes. The growth is tremendous in Knoxville. Also, Chattanooga and Nashville, but I think East Tennessee is unique unto itself. The growth is something I enjoyed seeing. It’s going to keep going. Maybe that’s why the real estate comment I made earlier."

To see everything he said make sure you click HERE.