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Sparks shocker: Brian Agler resigns as head coach of Los Angeles

By Howard Megdal

ATLANTA, GA AUGUST 09: LA head coach Brian Agler (center) talks to his team during a timeout during the WNBA game between Atlanta and Los Angeles on August 9th, 2018 at Hank McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA. The Atlanta Dream defeated the Los Angeles Sparks by a score of 79 73. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA AUGUST 09: LA head coach Brian Agler (center) talks to his team during a timeout during the WNBA game between Atlanta and Los Angeles on August 9th, 2018 at Hank McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA. The Atlanta Dream defeated the Los Angeles Sparks by a score of 79 73. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Sparks and Brian Agler have parted ways.

In a move apparently in the works for quite some time, but only announced Friday, Brian Agler has resigned as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Agler told High Post Hoops Friday that this was his decision.

“We’d like to thank Brian for his contributions to the Sparks organization over the last four seasons, including helping the team win the 2016 title,” Executive Vice President and General Manager Penny Toler said in a press release. “We wish Brian nothing but the best moving forward.”

The move comes following a disappointing season by Los Angeles and Agler standards. The Sparks finished 19-15, won a playoff game against their rivals in Minnesota, before losing in the second round of the WNBA playoffs to the eventual finalists, the Washington Mystics.

But the end of Agler’s tenure in Los Angeles isn’t to be dismissed lightly. Over four years, Agler’s record of 85-51 was good for a winning percentage of .625, and included a pair of WNBA Finals appearances, including a 2016 title.

Agler’s success long predates his time in Los Angeles, of course. He also won WNBA Coach of the Year honors in 2010 while leading the Seattle Storm to the 2010 WNBA championship. His success includes 269 wins, second only to Mystics coach Mike Thibault all-time, and if his time in the ABL is included, you can add another 82 wins and two more championships, not to mention the mentoring of people like current New York Liberty head coach Katie Smith.

The search for a new head coach is likely to include recent coaches like former Wings leader Fred Williams and Amber Stocks, who served as an assistant under Agler in Los Angeles before heading to Chicago for a tenure as the Sky’s head coach and general manager.

As for Agler, still just 60, it is hard to believe this is the last we see of him in the WNBA, and Agler told High Post Hoops that he is not retiring.

As a point of personal privilege, just the chance to hear from him during the course of covering the league alone looms as a massive loss.

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