It's no secret the New York Liberty are on the hunt for a new coach. The franchise announced the departure of Sandy Brondello in September after the team failed to advance past the first round of the WNBA playoffs this season, but when it comes to naming names, things have been pretty quiet.
Or, they were quiet — until the Athletic revealed a shortlist of candidates that includes the Phoenix Mercury's associate head coach and former WNBA player Kristi Toliver.
Toliver was forced to step up for the Mercury in a big way during Game 4 of the WNBA Finals after Tibbets was ejected following a double technical foul, and she's been coaching hard on the sidelines all season. And while her departure would certainly rattle the Mercury, especially since the team will presumably enter the 2026 season with a chip on their shoulder and a Championship to win, Tibbets has been nothing short of enthusiastic about Toliver's capacities as a head coach.
Toliver joined the Mercury's coaching staff in 2024 after assistant coaching positions with the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks (notably, she was still playing in the WNBA while working for the Wizards).
The Liberty are also eyeing a few other candidates
The Mercury's associate head coach isn't the only person the team is looking at. According to the Athletic, New York is also considering Former Brooklyn Nets assistant Will Weaver, who also has experiencing coaching internationally, as well as Liberty assistant Sonia Raman, as well as Joseph Blair, head coach of the Houston Rockets G League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The team also reportedly interviewed Lindsey Harding, a Los Angeles Lakers assistant and former G League Coach of the Year.
The Liberty's GM Jonathan Kolb made it clear following Brondello's departure that the team is hoping to evolve, and that he understands how important choosing the next coach really is. He added that the team decided to part ways with Brondello after evaluating what they most need as "we move forward into a future of an ever evolving WNBA."
Brondello was removed from her post after four seasons with New York and ultimately left with a 107-53 record — the best of any coach in franchise history. Her firing came one year after she led the team to the 2025 WNBA Championship and one week after the Phoenix Mercury shut down the team's repeat hopes.