The Dallas Wings officially introduced new head coach Jose Fernandez. Fernandez comes with a great reputation and tons of experience as a head coach at the college level. He offers pretty much everything the Wings should want to see from Paige Bueckers’s next coach.
The job does not come without challenges. Given Bueckers’s popularity, her head coach will have a lot of eyes on them and face a ton of scrutiny. Fernandez said in his introductory press conference that he wasn’t worried about the pressure. His stint as head coach has barely even started, though, and Fernandez has a lot of work to do. He has to build relationships with the players on the roster, figure out which players he would like the front office to chase in free agency, and put together a coaching staff.
Apparently, Fernandez will have plenty of talent to choose from for his coaching staff. “There’s a huge interest, unbelievable interest, in coming here to work with our front office and with this team and with the Dallas Wings organization,” Fernandez said during his press conference.
Given the Wings’ bright future, that interest should be no surprise. Many coaches would love to work with a generational talent like Bueckers and whoever the Wings land in the 2026 lottery. Plus, doing it as an assistant coach or player developmental coach is much easier than as the head coach.
The Dallas Wings can only move up after the 2025 season
The Wings started the 2025 season with a lot of talent and potential. Between Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, DiJonai Carrington, and NaLyssa Smith, it seemed possible that the team could fight its way out of the bottom of the standings. That didn’t happen. Ogunbowale only played 29 games due to injuries and had her worst statistical season yet, Carrington and Smith didn’t finish the season in Dallas, and the Wings finished at the bottom of the league.
It was a brutal, injury-ridden season, but the Wings did show potential. Paige Bueckers was named to the All-WNBA Second Team, and Maddy Siegrist, Haley Jones, Aziaha James, Luisa Geiselsöder, and JJ Quinerly established themselves as capable young rotational players.
Even if Ogunbowale doesn’t return to Dallas in the 2026 season, the Wings have foundational pieces to build around—namely Paige Bueckers and their next lottery pick. On top of that, they are building a brand new practice facility that will make Dallas a more interesting destination for free agents, and they have a veteran head coach.
There is no new CBA and the expansion draft and free agency haven’t happened yet, but things are already looking up for the Wings.