It didn’t take long for Sandy Brondello to get a new head coaching job in the WNBA after her contract with the Liberty wasn’t renewed. She chose the Toronto Tempo, foregoing opportunities to coach Paige Bueckers or Dominique Malonga to join an expansion team and help build a franchise from the ground up. Landing Brondello, a veteran coach with championship experience, was a huge win for the Tempo.
It should allow the team to hit the ground running and have a system in place quickly. It also allowed the Tempo to create a unique leadership duo with their head coach and GM. Not only did the Tempo fill two of the most important positions in the franchise with women, but they also filled them with former players—something that intrigued Brondello more than anything, as she revealed on In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams.
“In the end, I just thought that’s where my heart was leading me at this stage of my career,” Brondello said about her decision to join the Tempo, “and I just really felt a strong partnership and collaboration with Monica Rogers, and the fact that she’s a former player that’s won a championship and I’m a former player that’s a head coach, I thought it was pretty cool.”
Brondello entered the WNBA in 1998, just after the league’s first season, as a fourth-round pick. She played for five years with the Detroit Shock, Miami Sol, and Seattle Storm. Brondello also played for the Australian national team, winning two silver and one bronze medal at the Olympics. Monica Wright Rogers joined the WNBA much later. She was the second overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft and won two titles with the Lynx before finishing her W career with the Storm.
Brondello and Wright Rogers are the only GM-head coach duo made up of two former players.
Brondello and Wright Rogers aren’t the only former players in their positions
There are currently three head coaches who also played in the WNBA: Sandy Brondello, Becky Hammon, and Stephanie White. Several other former players are assistant coaches. Many fans wished for other former players to get an opportunity after the 2025 season because there were several coaching vacancies. They were disappointed. The Fire hired Alex Sarama, a former NBA assistant coach, the Wings went with long-time college coach Jose Fernandez, and the Storm chose former NBA and WNBA assistant coach Sonia Raman. However, Kristi Toliver is reportedly still in the running for the Liberty head coaching position, which would add another former player to the coaching ranks.
Wright Rogers also isn’t the only GM with playing experience. Sparks GM Raegan Pebley played for the Utah Starzz in 1997 and the Cleveland Rockers in 1998. Jamila Wideman, the Mystics’ GM, entered the WNBA as the third pick in the first WNBA college draft and played for the Sparks, Rockers, Fire, and Sun between 1997 and 2000. Sun GM Morgan Tuck was the third overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft and also played in Connecticut before winning the 2020 Championship with the Seattle Storm.