On Monday, when the news came out in the Connecticut Sun. Stephanie White broke up with coach After two seasons, it was clear that something was happening in the WNBA.
In just over a month, seven teams have fired or “parted ways” with coaches, including the Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics. Four teams (Mystics, Fever, Dream, and Las Vegas Aces) also parted ways with their GMs during the same period.
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The reasons for each dismissal are not immediately clear. While some teams struggled during what is considered the biggest season in recent WNBA history, others seemed to be succeeding. Tanisha Wright led the Dream to the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. Christie Sides was credited with leading the Fever out of a terrible start to the season and seemed to work very well with new star Caitlin Clark. As a result, The Fever advanced to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.
The other reason is simpler. Michael Winger is the president of Monumental Basketball, which manages the Mystics and the NBA’s Washington Wizards. He and Mystics coach Eric Thibault not sorted As for the team’s future, Winger has previously stated that reorganizing the team’s leadership was always on the cards, and the end of the season likely presented the perfect opportunity to do so. Eric’s father, Michael Thibault, was also fired from his position as the team’s GM.
It’s nothing new for teams to fire and hire coaches, but it’s surprising that more than half of the 12-team league is looking for new leadership. So why are so many WNBA teams firing coaches?
New media rights deals allow for more revenue generation
The league itself has been quiet on the subject. As per normal league operations, coaching staff decisions are left up to each team, and requests for comment from both the league and individual teams went unanswered. Money is always an issue, with the recently announced cash influx $2.2 billion media rights deal This means the team can improve in a number of ways, including what it could offer a new coach.
Two teams, the Phoenix Mercury and Aces, paid their managers $70,000 in salary in 2024. The new contracts could mean that the salaries of several WNBA head coaches could become equal to those of NBA assistant coaches, which would inevitably lead to college hiring. A coach or league could steal talent from the NBA.
Money aside, there are other things going on beneath the surface. The Sky were rumored to be pursuing White ahead of The Sun’s announcement, but the team is up against the Fever, who could bring White to Indiana and give her the opportunity to coach one of the most exciting rookies in recent memory. . The team also had early talks with Curt Miller, formerly of the Sparks, and Latricia Trammell, once of the Wings.
Of these options, Trammell would likely be a good fit for Sky. Trammell has previously worked with teams that didn’t have the biggest budgets. She is also known as: athlete first coachIt’s something the Sky’s roster (which includes Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter) will appreciate.
The solution may lie in universities
Teams facing a head coach search must also contend with the fact that the WNBA doesn’t boast a large pool of candidates, meaning they have to look to the rankings of women’s colleges. There are no league limits on how much a team can pay a coach, and with the right ownership and mindset in place, almost no one is off the table.
UConn’s Geno Auriemma signed. 5-year, $18.7 million contract This year, that includes a clause requiring a $5 million buyout if he goes elsewhere (Seattle isn’t looking yet, but many UConn graduates in particular have ended up with the Storm). Coaches like Kim Mulkey and WNBA legend Dawn Staley, who signed a 10-year contract extension that will keep her at LSU through 2033. her own signature He signed a landmark $22.4 million contract out of South Carolina in 2021 and appears to be emotionally and financially tied to the team. But there are plenty of other coaches that WNBA teams should look at. Jeff Walz of Louisville signed a contract with his team By 2029, his salary would rise to $1.7 million per year. This is an amount that some teams cannot afford.
Any coach can be recruited on any contract with the right offer, and the opportunity to coach in the best women’s league in the world can be just that. The trajectory and plans of each team’s front office won’t become clear until a new coach is hired and his impact is felt. This process will not be completed for several months. But the road to get there is already shaping up to make this the most unpredictable offseason in years.
WNBA owners appear to be (finally) taking their teams more seriously, and the search for a new coach reflects a new reality that includes a surge in money and fans. With three (possibly four) expansion teams on the horizon, it’s time for some new energy. These teams certainly seem to recognize this.
