Last offseason marked a change in the WNBA’s coaching landscape.
Head coaching jobs were as tenuous ever. Sources around the WNBA believed the big increase in popularity — much higher attendance and viewership — heightened pressure on coaches and upped prospective ownership groups’ willingness to make changes.
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Eight jobs opened last year, including that of the expansion team Golden State Valkyries, with seven vacancies filled by first-time WNBA head coaches. Now, a year later, head coaching experience appears to be a priority.
The New York Liberty, Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm moved on from Sandy Brondello, Chris Koclanes and Noelle Quinn, respectively. Expansion teams in Portland and Toronto have yet to officially name their first coaches. The landscape is still experiencing a shift, with pre-existing relationships as well as past coaching opportunities playing a role in how teams proceed.
Here’s what we know about the various searches after conversations with nearly a dozen basketball sources, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss the searches openly.
New York Liberty
Days after parting ways with Brondello — New York’s all-time winningest coach who had been with the organization for four seasons — general manager Jonathan Kolb said the Liberty needed “evolution and innovation.” He said the decision was “rooted in being proactive” and he recognized the need to “nail” the hire. Kolb said he did not plan to use a search firm, which multiple teams did last offseason.
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The Liberty was expected to look strongly at coaches with NBA background, and that appears to be the case. Lindsey Harding, a Los Angeles Lakers assistant and former G League Coach of the Year, was an early candidate. New York requested permission to interview Phoenix Mercury assistant Kristi Toliver, another former WNBA player turned coach. (Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts has been effusive in his praise of Toliver, saying she’s ready for a head coach opportunity.)
Former Brooklyn Nets assistant Will Weaver, who has G League and international head coaching experience, interviewed for the Liberty opening. Current Liberty assistant Sonia Raman, who joined the franchise after four years with the Memphis Grizzlies, is another candidate. Raman was a finalist for one of the WNBA openings last offseason and has interviewed in each of the past two cycles.
Joseph Blair, head coach of the Houston Rockets G League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers, also recently interviewed for the Liberty head coach role. Blair has had multiple stints as Rio Grande’s head coach, leading the Valley Vipers to the 2019 NBA G League title. Blair, 51, played overseas and also has NBA assistant experience with the Minnesota Timberwolves and, more recently, the Washington Wizards.
Dallas Wings
Despite winning only 10 games last season, the Wings are considered one of the most attractive openings. They’re led by near-unanimous Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, who made All-WNBA second team. The Wings could get the No. 1 overall draft pick for the second straight season — they have the highest probability (40 percent) of winning the 2026 lottery (date TBD). Dallas also hold the rights to two first-round selections in 2027.
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Despite becoming one of the most scrutinized jobs in recent years, in large part because of the fanfare and expectations surrounding Bueckers, the Wings also plan to unveil a new practice facility before next season and to move to downtown Dallas by 2027.
That all helps inform the framework of their search, which is believed to focus around candidates with prior head coaching experience. The Wings are looking at coaches from various levels of basketball — women’s college basketball, WNBA circles and men’s professional basketball. Early candidates included Blair, former Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger, and former G League head coach Coby Karl (South Bay Lakers and Delaware Blue Coats).
Baylor head coach Nicki Collen has WNBA and collegiate head coaching experience and has known general manager Curt Miller for decades —they worked together at Colorado State in 2001. South Florida’s Jose Fernandez has been with the Bulls since 2000 and is among the most respected names in college basketball. Fernandez was a finalist for the Wings job last year before Dallas decided to hire Chris Koclanes, and Fernandez could be in the mix again.
Brondello is also a candidate as the franchise looks to find stability at head coach. From all indications, the franchise is prepared to invest in the role financially, understanding the importance of having a coach last more than two seasons for the first time since 2018.
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Toronto Tempo
The Tempo officially named Monica Wright Rogers as general manager in late February. She had been with the Mercury, where she was assistant general manager. Although the Tempo have built out their front office in subsequent months, they have yet to hire a head coach.
The franchise is believed to be centering its search on Brondello. She was on vacation last week, hence a potential delay in the process and her decision could trigger a domino effect around the league. If she’s hired by the Tempo, that could spark a chain reaction in Dallas and Seattle, where she is also a candidate.
The Tempo have interviewed several former WNBA head coaches. James Wade, ex-Chicago Sky coach and GM and current Raptors assistant, was once considered a front-runner, but his candidacy appears to have cooled. Former Atlanta Dream coach Tanisha Wright, Washington Mystics coach Eric Thibault and Dallas Wings coach Latricia Trammell have all had discussions about the role. Indiana Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek is another candidate.
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Portland Fire
The Fire appeared to leak the name of their preferred candidate earlier this week, when a LinkedIn post briefly displayed current Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Alex Sarama as their hire. While Sarama is the front-runner, no deal has been finalized. Cleveland, in theory, would have to let the recently-promoted Sarama out of his contract before he could take the Fire job officially.
Sarama and general manager Vanja Černivec have worked together with the London Lions, a British club. Černivec was their GM while Sarama was their director of methodology.
Sarama also has familiarity in the Portland market, serving as an assistant for the G League Rip City Remix. His implementation of the constraints-led approach has made its way into the NBA world and also has been adapted by WNBA star Kelsey Plum.
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Miles Simon, a current Miami Heat assistant and former South Bay Lakers head coach, is another candidate in Portland, though he is not the only other coaching candidate the franchise talked with.
The Fire announced the hiring of Ashley Battle, a former WNBA veteran and Maine Celtics assistant general manager earlier this week. Battle will be the Fire’s vice president of basketball operations, strategy and innovation. Like Sarama, she has worked with Černivec as the two crossed paths at the NBA league office in the late 2010s.
Seattle Storm
How the Storm proceed is more of a mystery as this is general manager Talisa Rhea’s first opportunity to run a head coach search from start-to-finish.
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In addition to Brondello, Indiana Fever assistant Briann January is one of Seattle’s candidates. January, 38, played 14 WNBA seasons, including finishing her WNBA career with the Storm in 2022. She has been a WNBA assistant the past three seasons and also was an assistant with the Detroit Pistons’ NBA G League affiliate.
Raman interviewed with the Storm and is another active candidate for the opening as well. She has interviewed for other WNBA head coach openings previously, has prior head coaching experience at the Division III level and is highly regarded for her ability to connect with players and her technical approach to the game.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Dallas Wings, WNBA, Sports Business
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