MILWAUKEE -- Pat Murphy says he couldn't have imagined going directly from coaching in the college ranks to managing in the major leagues.

But the Milwaukee Brewers skipper -- who previously worked as a head coach at Arizona State and Notre Dame -- is confident Tony Vitello can make a successful transition from coaching the University of Tennessee to managing the San Francisco Giants .

"I'm excited for this guy," Murphy said. "I hear great things. I've met him before, but I'm not close associates with him. I've heard great things about him. They have a great team and a great organization, so I think it's going to work, and I don't think that can happen a lot. I know I wouldn't have been ready."

Murphy's success has lent credence to the notion that a college coach could thrive as

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