On Wednesday, the baseball world was shocked when Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello accepted the San Francisco Giants manager position. It was the first time in MLB history that a college baseball coach jumped from college straight into being an MLB manager. With Vitello leaving, Tennessee is one of the best college baseball openings.
The Tennessee Volunteers are conducting a nationwide search for their next head coach. While interest will come from all over college baseball, one outside-the-box option, Curt Schilling, confirmed that he is interested in the opening in Knoxville. He has never coached at the college or professional level, but he had a Hall of Fame career and could be an interesting option. ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney was the first to report on the news.
Buster Olney posted on X: “With Tony Vitello moving to the San Francisco Giants, the Tennessee HC job is open — and among those interested is longtime pitcher Curt Schilling, who lives in Tennessee.”
Schilling responded to the post: “I'm very interested. What an incredible program to potentially be a part of. @Vol_Sports”
It is worth noting that shortly after Olney revealed that Schilling was interested in the job, “D1Baseball‘s” Kendall Rogers seemed to shut down any possibility of the former right-handed pitcher becoming an actual candidate for the opening in Knoxville.
Curt Schilling's baseball career is well-documented and Hall of Fame worthy. He was an All-Star pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Boston Red Sox.
Schilling then became an MLB analyst for ESPN's flagship MLB show, “Baseball Tonight,” from 2010 to 2016. However, he was fired in 2016 due to controversy. ESPN fired him after he made insensitive comments on social media.
“ESPN is an inclusive company,” they said in a statement. “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”
Schilling has shown that he has been a lightning rod of controversy, which is why he has not been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That long history of controversy, plus the fact that he has no experience coaching, are key reasons why Tennessee might not hire him, but the fact that his name is included is something to monitor.
