A year ago, the Dallas Wings hired a head coach who had no experience in such a job.
This time, after firing Chris Kolcanes last month, they went in the completely opposite direction.
Multiple sources confirmed to SB Nation that Dallas is zeroing in on hiring Jose Fernandez as its next head coach. The deal is expected to include multiple guaranteed years.
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While Fernandez has never coached in the WNBA, he has long been a successful and widely respected head coach in women’s college basketball.
A Miami, Florida native, Fernandez has been the head coach at South Florida since 2000, where he has built the Bulls into one of the most consistent mid-major powers in the sport. He is 485-317 all-time there and has taken USF to nine of the past 12 NCAA Tournaments. Since 2021, he’s won three conference championships in the American. He’s posted 12 seasons of 20 or more wins.
Fernandez is also currently the president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. He has also recently coached with Team USA, working as an assistant with the 2025 U19 squad and the 2024 U18 unit.
Over his tenure at USF, Fernandez has also produced multiple WNBA players — most notably Courtney Williams, who played for Dallas general manager Curt Miller for five seasons when he was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.
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Miller became the general manager of the Wings last November and interviewed Fernandez for the job last year before hiring Koclanes, sources said. Multiple factors led to Fernandez not taking the job then, including the fact that Dallas didn’t make the hire until December – two months into USF’s season – and Fernandez’s buyout was an obstacle.
However, two things reduced Fernandez’s buyout from about $1 million to about $250,000 within the past year. First, there was an existing clause in his contract that his buyout would be cut in half if there was a change at athletic director for USF. In June, former USF AD Michael Kelly left for the same job at the U.S. Naval Academy. Second, language was added to his contract to reduce his existing buyout by half if Fernandez left for a job in the WNBA, as opposed to another job in college hoops.
Fernandez takes over the Dallas Wings after a 10-34 season and a last-place finish in the WNBA. The job, however, was attractive to candidates for multiple reasons.
First and foremost, the Wings have a talented young core under contract, anchored by WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, who was also an All-Star and All-WNBA selection in her first season in the league. That young group also includes fellow 2025 first-round draft pick Aziaha James, third-round standout JJ Quinerly, 25-year-old Maddy Siegrist and 24-year-old Diamond Miller. The Wings will also have good odds to land the No. 1 pick in the lottery for the 2026 WNBA Draft. Additionally, Dallas still holds the rights to 6-foot-5 Awak Kuier, who has been playing overseas.
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Dallas also has a brand-new 70,700 square-foot practice facility set to open before the 2026 WNBA season begins.
As the Wings narrowed down their search, other candidates to succeed Koclanes included Baylor head coach Nicki Collen and former New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. It’s been widely reported that Brondello will become the first head coach of the expansion Toronto Tempo.
For USF, their season begins in 11 days. Michele Woods-Baxter, who has been at USF for 18 seasons and holds the title of associate head coach, will serve as the interim head coach this season.
“While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose to realize a professional dream, and we are incredibly proud of him,” USF CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said in a statement. “Michelle’s experience and leadership will guide our student-athletes as they embrace a challenging schedule and compete for another American Conference Championship.”
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Fernandez runs what many refer to as a “4 High” or zone offense and he’s had a ton of success with it in college, regularly putting his Bulls in a position to upset Power 4 opponents. WNBA fans will be watching closely how effective Bueckers and her teammates are under his direction.
