Tennessee Volunteers head baseball coach Tony Vitello watches the football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the UAB Blazers during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium.

The San Francisco Giants have made a historic decision to hire University of Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello as their new manager, the team announced on Weds., Oct 21.

Vitello has spent the past nine seasons in Knoxville, where he led the Volunteers to a 341–131 record with a pair of SEC titles, three College World Series appearances and a 2024 national title. By taking the job in San Francisco, he will become the first college skipper to make the jump directly to MLB manager.

The Giants fired Bob Melvin on Sept. 29 after two seasons on the job, as president of baseball operations Buster Posey indicated the team was looking for a fresh start and a new direction.

Vitello, 47, was one the highest-paid coach in the college baseball ranks, at more than $3 million a season with incentives and benefits – and his deal with the Giants is also in excess of $3 million, according to USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale.

His buyout with Tennessee is $3 million.

Vitello was in the picture for the Giants' job for at least two months, Knox News reports, citing a person with direct knowledge of the situation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Giants' pursuit of Vitello was not public.

Vitello met with Posey when the Giants played a series against the Colorado Rockies in early September and Vitello was in Denver to see four former players on the two teams. Vitello had an interview with the Giants on Oct. 1 and remained on the radar until his eventual hire.

"Congratulations to Tony on this incredible opportunity to lead the San Francisco Giants," Tennessee vice chancellor Danny White said in a statement. "We wish him the best as he embarks on this new chapter in his career and thank him for everything he has done to transform Tennessee baseball into a championship program."

Before arriving in Knoxville, Vitello was an assistant at TCU and Missouri, where he played before entering coaching in 2003.

In his second year running the Giants, Posey made significant changes to the roster last winter, yet the club still finished 81-81, the fourth consecutive season at or around the .500 mark.

This story has been updated with new information

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tony Vitello hired as Giants manager in historic move for Tennessee coach

Reporting by Steve Gardner, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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