Jason Adam Jersey 3:15pm: The decision on whether Vitello will be the next manager of the Giants or not is expected within the next 24 to 72 hours, according to a report from . Pa san adds that while Vitello is the top target of San Francisco at this point, the sides have yet to reach a deal. 1:56pm: The Giants managerial search seems to be nearing an end, with a surprising name emerging from the college ranks. report that the Giants are closing in on hiring University of Tenne see head coach Tony Vitello as their next skipper. Vitello told The Athletic by text that there is nothing to confirm about the news, and the Giants also havent commented on the report. The 47-year-old Vitello was an a sistant baseball coach for Mi souri (his alma mater), TCU, and Arkansas from 2003-2017 before being hired for the top job at Tenne see in June 2017. The Volunteers have since become an elite program, with a 341-131 record under Vitellos watch and the schools first NCAA national championship in baseball in 2024. Beyond that College World Series victory, the Vols also reached the World Series in both 2021 and 2023, and they were SEC regular-season and tournament champions in both 2022 and 2024. Beyond this sterling record in NCAA baseball, however, Vitello has no experience as a player, coach, or manager in profe sional baseball. There have been examples in recent years of teams reaching out to hire college coaches or a sistants to big league coaching staffs, yet hiring a manager without any experience in an MLB organization is a step beyond. Brewers skipper Pat Murphy is a notable example of a current manager with lots of college head coaching experience, but as Baggarly/Ghiroli/Rosenthal note, Murphy had many years as a minor league manager and a big league bench coach (not to mention a stint as the Padres interim manager) in between his NCAA work and his managerial job with the Brewers. Vitellos name doesnt come out of the blue, as him as a po sible managerial candidate a little under three weeks ago, when rumors were swirling about Bob Melvin being on the way out in San Francisco. Baggarly felt the Giants would be looking for a younger manager who operates with a high motor as Melvins replacement, and the names linked to the teams managerial search have generally fit this description. Former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Royals third base coach are both 52 years old, and former catchers and are both 42 years old. In regards to Hundley, the Athletic reporters note that he is now expected to remain in Texas in his current job as a special a sistant to president of baseball operations Chris Young. Past reports indicated Hundley was a big candidate and po sibly the front-runner for the San Francisco job, but Hundley will now remain with the Rangers. It isnt known if the Giants simply preferred to go with Vitello, or if Hundley may have taken himself out of the running, as he did in 2023 when he was previously considered as a candidate for the Giants last managerial vacancy. A suming Vitello indeed ends up in San Francisco, it represents a bold move for both the coach and for the Giants organization. Vitello would be leaving the comfort of his fiefdom for a job that offers anything but stability, as the Athletic trio puts it. From the perspective of president of baseball operations , replacing a three-time MLB manager of the year in Melvin with someone entirely new to pro baseball is a huge swing for Poseys very first managerial hire since taking over the Giants front office a year ago. The Giants 107-win season in 2021 represents the teams only playoff appearance and winning record in the last nine years, as San Franciscos next best marks were 81-81 record in both 2022 and 2025. This seasons .500 record wasnt enough for Posey in the wake of some big long-term acquisitions ( , , ) within the last year, and Melvins dismi sal was the latest step in Posey wanting to entirely put his stamp on the franchises operations. There would be no shortage of fascinating subplots to a Vitello hire, the most pre sing being simply how a college coachs tactics can translate to motivating and leading a clubhouse of seasoned major leaguers. Vitellos NCAA credentials are as good as anyones, but as weve seen countle s times in the NFL, NBA, or NHL, coaching the profe sional game is vastly different than being a succe s in the collegiate ranks. The Giants have had difficulty in luring top-tier free agents in the past, and it is worth wondering how those pursuits could be impacted with Vitello in the mix would free agents balk at playing under an inexperienced manager, or would Vitellos recruiting methods work as well on big leaguers as they do on blue-chip college prospects? Yandy Diaz Jersey