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What do the Liberty need to consider in their head coach search?

By Jackie Powell

MINNEAPOLIS, MN- MAY 10: Sylvia Fowles #34 and Assistant Coach Walt Hopkins look on before the game against the Washington Mystics on May 10, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN- MAY 10: Sylvia Fowles #34 and Assistant Coach Walt Hopkins look on before the game against the Washington Mystics on May 10, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: Elena Delle Donne #11, and Assistant Coach Eric Thibault of the Washington Mystics look at plays before Game One of the 2019 WNBA Finals against the Connecticut Sun on September 29, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: Elena Delle Donne #11, and Assistant Coach Eric Thibault of the Washington Mystics look at plays before Game One of the 2019 WNBA Finals against the Connecticut Sun on September 29, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Established connections and familiarity 

For Katie Smith, familiarity was an issue. Her players didn’t see her as a force that held people accountable. They saw her as the incredibly bright and skilled assistant who could draw up a play in the drop of a hat.

However, familiarity shouldn’t be avoided when considering the next New York head coach. Before the Liberty landed in Brooklyn, I doubted that Washington Mystics associate coach Eric Thibault and UConn’s associate head coach Chris Dailey would want to be on the move.

Thibault just won a championship with his father Mike, and Dailey has been serving as Geno Auriemma’s right hand since 1985.

Daily and Thibault both are connected to the players who will either be returning or will be testing free agency. While Thibault was in college during Tina Charles’ stint on the Connecticut Sun, he was leading workouts. Charles has praised father Mike for being the “first guy to believe in [her]” in the WNBA.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and if the Liberty desire to continue to bet on their franchise player, a Thibault system makes rational sense. To build his case even more, the current Mystics associate head coach is directly responsible for developing point guard Natasha Cloud, whom New York tried to acquire in 2019.

Dailey has been responsible for developing New York’s Charles, Stokes, Nurse and Bria Hartley. Charles has credited Dailey for her commitment to the 7x WNBA All-Star’s development, including her iconic hook shot. Stokes still remembers the discipline and rules Dailey was able to impart on her as a young adult. Apparently the “CD Rules” were annoying, but have stuck with Stokes to this day.

STORRS, CT – MARCH 19: UConn Huskies Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey discusses a play with UConn Huskies Forward Azura Stevens (23) during the game as the Quinnipiac Bobcats take on the UConn Huskies in the Second Round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship on March 19, 2018 at the Gampel Pavillion in Storrs, Connecticut. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
STORRS, CT – MARCH 19: UConn Huskies Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey discusses a play with UConn Huskies Forward Azura Stevens (23) during the game as the Quinnipiac Bobcats take on the UConn Huskies in the Second Round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship on March 19, 2018 at the Gampel Pavillion in Storrs, Connecticut. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

“C[hris] D[ailey]  is absolutely incredible and for this program,” Kia Nurse told reporters during senior year as a Husky.  “When you come here and you meet her and you’re in the program, you can see everything she does every day. Her ability to do the team-building stuff, the off-court stuff and make sure you are ready to for the real world once you leave this place, just by simple rules and simple things that she’ll help you out with. And she has an open door policy.”

But does the opportunity to coach at a capital arena in the heart of Brooklyn alter the idea of staying put? These two in particular will most likely stay put, but Barclays Center has to be a bargaining chip moving forward for Kolb and the Liberty.

“I think it’s going to positively impact not only our players currently on our roster but all players, coaches, all staff members that come through the Barclays Center during the 2020 season,” Kolb said.  “It’s a world-class facility.”

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