Tony Vitello jokes he will not call Tennessee media rat poison: 'They do that in other states'

Unlike another notable national champion SEC head coach, Tony Vitello isn’t worried about “rat poison.”

During his first press conference of the 2025 season, the Tennessee baseball coach made it clear he has no issue playing up the Volunteers’ sky-high potential after winning the program’s first NCAA College World Series National Championship in 2024.

When discussing how talented sophomore Dean Curley has handled approaching his second season in Knoxville, Vitello took the opportunity to crack a joke at the expense of the local media — as well as former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban — while also acknowledging how easily players can become distracted by external factors that have nothing to do with the game of baseball.

“It’s just all the externalities, um, it’s you guys. I like you so I won’t call you rat poison or anything evil like that — they do that in other states,” Vitello deadpanned Wednesday. “But there are externalities there with social media and other fans knowing what you did or what you eat or what your girlfriend’s name is or any of that stuff. And a lot of it at the end of the day doesn’t have anything to do with the job you’re trying to do between the lines. And Dean was able to do that as a freshman, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to do it this year.”

Saban famously coined the term “rat poison” to describe any perceived positive press that could distract his Crimson Tide players from their mission at hand, especially if it helped to inflate the egos of the litany of former four- and five-star players that regularly littered Alabama’s roster year-in and year-out.

Clearly Vitello doesn’t share Saban’s concerns about the same thing happening in Knoxville this season.

Tony Vitello agrees to 5-year extension with Tennessee, becomes highest-paid coach in college baseball

Tony Vitello and Tennessee are in agreement on a contract extension, the university announced. The five-year deal will make him the highest-paid coach in college baseball.

Vitello’s new salary will be worth $3 million per year and run through June 30, 2029, per Volquest’s Eric Cain. He will also receive a $250,000 signing bonus and a $200,000 retroactive bonus for winning the 2024 College World Series – an increase from the $140,000 bonus under his previous contract.

Under the terms of his new contract, Vitello’s buyout starts at $4 million before June 30, 2025, and decreases by $1 million each year until 2028. That’s when it drops to $800,000 before June 320, 2028 and $400,000 in the final year of his deal.

Tennessee made history this past season with its first national championship in program history, defeating Texas A&M in three games. Since Vitello took over on Rocky Top in 2017, the Vols have a 295-112 overall record and three College World Series appearances over the last four years.

Nick Schultz contributed to this report.