As Tony Vitello collected his thoughts while walking off the field in Omaha, the question that has surrounded the baseball program was at the forefront. Would Vitello sign a new contract with the Vols and remain in Knoxville. It’s been an incredible turnaround at Tennessee, so other schools reaching out to the coach are not uncommon, but this is LSU, a job that is a bit different than the run of the mill opening.
Just minutes after being eliminated from the College World Series, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello was asked if he had spoken with anyone at LSU about their vacancy.
“No I’ve not, had zero. And I just made an idiot out of myself at least for all the masculine folks watching, by getting teary-eyed about these kids. That’s where my focus has been. Like I said, the social life hasn’t been existent for quite some time well before our opening-day game. Part of that is I want to do as good of a job for the school that gave me a chance. And I want to do as good of a job for a group that we thought could go pretty far.”
According to sources, conversations with Vitello about his future in Knoxville were going to happen after the season, as he was preparing to win a championship. The Tennessee head coach went on to add that he wasn’t going to waste any energy on anything else besides his team, so he knew deep down that his complete focus was on his players.
“And the way the season evolved, like I said, the emotion’s certainly not fake, I don’t know if it’s embarrassing or not, but it’s coming from a place that’s my number one concern is these guys. And I’ll go back to the room and anyone who knows me, it will be bad how much I critique myself and it hurts. So I’m certainly not going to waste energy before a game or any other game having regrets that my mind wasn’t right or we weren’t prepared the right way to go into whatever game it might be.”
The Vols administration will now look to lockdown Vitello for the future, as I’ve been told the school has put together a lucrative package for the current head coach. The university making sure he’s comfortable with Lindsey Nelson Stadium renovation plans and assistant coaching pool.
