'Embarrassing ... have some class': Former Alabama QB offers awful take on Vols' Tony Vitello
If you live under a rock — or if you just don’t have Twitter, which is certainly an acceptable choice — you might not have heard former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy’s take for the ages this morning.
During an episode of the Birmingham radio program McElroy hosts with Auburn alum Cole Cubelic, McElroy launched into a rant criticizing Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello, during which he called Vitello “classless” and “embarrassing.”
“I just wish he didn’t have the antics that he does,” McElroy said. “He’s like a WWE character. It’s embarrassing. Seriously. I mean, to be an adult … it’s just … I’d be appalled. I really would. I know he wins and he’s great and the kids love him and all that stuff. That’s awesome, but if that was the leader of my organization I’d have to have a little talking to him. I just would. It’s unbelievable.”
McElroy went on to say that Tennessee is “a tough team to look for,” adding that Vitello’s “antics after the game last night were embarrassing. Seriously. Have some class. You just won a national championship. Have some class.”
Sports radio hosts, like newspaper columnists, are bound to have bad takes every now and then. It’s just what happens when you churn out that much content and so much of it is infused with opinionated takes. But this might go down as an all-time terrible take from McElroy.
The former QB didn’t give any examples of what Vitello does that causes him so much heartburn. Nor did he give any examples of Vitello’s “antics” after the game that were so embarrassing and classless.
I’ve written before that fans of opposing teams still judge Vitello and Tennessee from the actions of the team two years ago. That team truly was hard to root for, and Vitello was part of the problem, frankly.
But this year’s team was completely different, and Vitello has matured significantly as a head coach. The difference between this year’s team and the 2022 team is daylight and darkness. It’s one thing for random Twitter users who don’t use their actual photo or name to identify themselves to rant about how classless Vitello and the Vols are. But guys who have mainstream radio programs should be expected to have a little more knowledge about what they’re talking about — or at least the ability to harness silly, baseless opinions of their favorite team’s opponents.
As Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert pointed out, “There’s some truth in Vitello’s emotions running too hot hurting Tennessee in the 2022 postseason, but that’s where McElroy outs himself as someone who hasn’t watched Vitello’s program over the last few years.”
Vitello was ripped by some opposing fans after he got on the umpires during Tennessee’s come-from-behind win over Florida State in the College World Series opener, and again when he vehemently argued strike-ball calls during Game 2 of the CWS finals. He was particularly irate during the game against Texas A&M, pacing the dugout and at one point picking up dirt and slinging it angrily.
There’s no doubt that Vitello is a fiery competitor. It’s part of what makes him so successful. What casual observers of the game might not understand is that his occasional outbursts at questionable calls are often used to motivate his team. That was the case in the game against Florida State, when Vitello stormed out of the dugout to protest a balk call — which, by the way, was a terrible call. His team was trailing in the ninth inning and needed a little motivation. It worked. And Vitello hardly has a patent on the strategy. Basketball coaches do it all the time, intentionally arguing with referees until they’re assessed a technical foul in order to motivate their team.
Vitello’s explosive anger in Game 2 against Texas A&M — which earned him a warning from the home plate umpire — might have seemed a little over the top without context. The pitches he was arguing were clearly outside the zone and should not have been called strikes. The point he was making, however, was that multiple pitches in the exact same location were called strikes when Tennessee was batting in the previous half-inning. That point was lost on the ESPN crew calling the game … and perhaps lost on McElroy, as well.
McElroy later invoked the name of former Alabama coach Nick Saban, saying that Saban would never act like Vitello.
There’s just one problem with that take: Saban also had a sometimes-fiery relationship with referees and regularly exploded in temper tantrums on the Alabama sideline.
With the exception of Vitello’s 2022 chest-bump of an umpire that earned him a suspension — and which, again, was two years ago — none of his arguments with officials are any worse than Saban’s legendary rants at officials. That isn’t a criticism of Nick Saban. It’s a criticism of McElroy’s hypocritical comparison.
The umpire tirades aside — which is really about the only thing anyone can criticize Vitello for these days — what were his antics after Tennessee’s win over Texas A&M in Monday’s national championship game that were so awful? Was it because he ate ice — and then slung some into the air — after his players showered him with water during his postgame interview on ESPN? Was it because he jumped into a mass of Tennessee fans to celebrate before leaving the field?
It’s okay for McElroy to think Vitello’s jubilant celebration is something that he would not engage in if it were him in that situation. It’s ridiculously over the top to suggest that Vitello’s celebration was classless or embarrassing. Did Vitello do anything to disrespect the game? No. Did he do anything to disrespect his opponent? No. So what’s the problem? Maybe it was that he — *gasp* — said the “S” word during his TV interview!
McElroy’s comments are being roundly criticized by others in the industry … as they should be. Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Mike Wilson offered this take: “I didn’t see Greg McElroy on the field at Charles Schwab Field on Monday. I did see Tony Vitello on that field. Only one of these people handled things with a lack of class — and it isn’t the one who was in Omaha hugging his mom and dad, celebrating, and taking time for people.”
The Atlantic’s Joe Rexrode added: “I like Greg McElroy. Also witnessed the entirety of Tony Vitello’s conduct. It began by shaking every Aggie coach’s hand while his players celebrated. There was nothing classless or disrespectful from him after that game. There was some unbridled joy. Just a weird take.”
Said radio host Jared Stallman: “Is this the first time (McElroy’s) seen Vitello? I actually think Vitello has calmed down recently.”
And college baseball writer and former ESPN College Gameday production assistant Harrison Cordell Fant: “Horrible take by Greg McElroy. He leans on the fact that Nick Saban would never do that and suggests you can’t and should(n’t) coach like this. Tony Vitello is an incredible head coach and leader both on and off the field.”
Weirdly, Nick Saban wasn’t the only name McElroy invoked as coaches-who-wouldn’t-do-what-Vitello-did. He also mentioned — wait for it — Bruce Pearl and Hugh Freeze. Yes, that Bruce Pearl and that Hugh Freeze … the same Bruce Pearl who appeared shirtless at a women’s basketball game with his chest painted.
Incidentally, there was nothing wrong with what Pearl did. We love Bruce Pearl in East Tennessee. If he came back to Knoxville after Rick Barnes retires — which isn’t going to happen, but it’s fun to dream about — we’d all be perfectly okay with that. Pearl did exactly what Vitello did Monday night: he showed raw exuberance and emotion that neither disrespected the game or the opponent.
As for Hugh Freeze … well, he was ousted at Ole Miss amid an ongoing recruiting scandal when it was revealed that he used a university cell phone to call prostitutes at least a dozen times. I’m all about second chances and I’m glad Freeze has found his second chance at Auburn. But let’s be real: would you rather have a coach who crowd-surfs with fans after winning a national championship, or a coach who gets in trouble for calling hookers on the university’s dime?
All in all it was just a really bizarre, truly awful take by McElroy. It’s so bad, so unprofessional, that it’s hard to see it as anything other than a jealous, salty take by an Alabama fan who’s not happy that a Tennessee team won a national championship. That’s understandable … I’m generally not happy when Alabama teams have success (though I’ve never questioned Nick Saban’s class, not even when an Alabama player punched a Tennessee co-ed following the Vols’ win over the Tide in 2022 and Saban defended him by claiming that he was “scared”).
McElroy, perhaps unsurprisingly, was silent on those particular postgame “antics.”
Nor did he have anything to say about the “antics” of Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats when Oats refused to punish a star player who supplied a handgun to a teammate that was used to murder someone. (I actually think Oats is one of the brightest young coaches in the game, and the player who supplied the gun didn’t seem to know what the gun was going to be used for — hence he shouldn’t have been suspended — but, hey, the sauce that’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and if we’re going to criticize a coach for unbridled enthusiasm after winning a national championship…)
None of this is inexcusable on McElroy’s part if he’s just a random Alabama fan, or even a radio host in Birmingham. It’s petty, perhaps, but as sports fans, petty is what we do best.
The problem is that McElroy is one of ESPN’s top college football analysts for Saturday night SEC games, including games involving Tennessee. And his response to an SEC team winning a national championship is a radio rant about how “classless” and “embarrassing” the coach is because he got excited when he celebrated.
That’s unacceptable, and McElroy owes Vitello an apology.