Tony Vitello jokingly hopes his Tennessee departure 'doesn’t give me Lane Kiffin status around here'

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello stunned the college baseball world on Wednesday when he accepted an offer to become the San Francisco Giants‘ new manager, becoming the first collegiate head coach to make such a jump to the Major Leagues. Two days after that tumultuous decision, Vitello issued a lengthy and heartfelt statement about his process while speaking with select local reporters earlier this week.

In that statement, Vitello injected his unique sense of humor throughout, including at one point poking some fun at Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin, who infamously left Tennessee following the 2009 season — his first and only year in Knoxville — to take over as Southern Cal‘s head coach. In that particular part of his 2,000-word statement, Vitello candidly described the move to San Francisco as a “selfish decision” while professing his hope to remain a Vol For Life (VFL) — something Kiffin never did on his way out the door.

“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,” Vitello said in his statement. “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.”

Fifteen years after leaving Knoxville in the dead of night, Kiffin remains a villain in the eyes of many Vols fans, a perception he playfully embraces, especially when it comes to trolling Tennessee on social media. Based on his exit statement, Vitello hopes he’ll be viewed and treated a lot more favorably by the diehard Vols fanbase whenever he returns to town.

Ed Orgeron predicts what would have happened at Tennessee had Lane Kiffin not left

Telling the story of Lane Kiffin is impossible without mentioning his stop at Tennessee. In fact, it might be one of the more important aspects of his career. Kiffin spent just one season in Knoxville before heading back to Los Angeles to coach USC. Fans certainly have not forgotten the move, even if jokes are made about the move nowadays.

But what if Kiffin never left Tennessee? Well, On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman asked somebody who was on his staff during the 2009 season, Ed Orgeron. While things might have been crazy, Orgeron believes success would have come for the Volunteers.

“We would have won the SEC for sure,” Orgeron said via Andy & Ari On3. “He was doing a great job. He was bringing great players in there. Look, I love Knoxville. What a football town, what a great stadium. And the recruiting that we were doing and the staff that he had was phenomenal. Now, it would’ve been like the Wild, Wild West. There were a lot of things going on. But Lane is a great coach and I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Kiffin went 7-5 during his first year at Tennessee before dropping a bowl game. Wins against Georgia and a ranked South Carolina stand out before closing out the regular season with rivalry wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky. This was fresh off a losing season under Phillip Fulmer, the final year for the legendary head coach.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.