The Dallas Wings have ended their search for a new coach — and they've brought in someone that UConn's head coach Geno Auriemma (who coached Paige Bueckers for five years) knows very, very well: USF Head Coach Jose Fernandez.
The team announced the news Thursday, just days after Auriemma was asked about whom the Wings should be scouting when it comes to coaching Bueckers to success. "I think there are a lot of coaches out there that would be really, really good for her, and she would be good for them," Auriemma told reporters when asked about Dallas' coach search during UConn's media day this week. "But it's got to be someone that there's mutual trust, and I always say, 'You've played one year of professional basketball.' Embrace what the pool is, talk to all of them, whoever they are."
Though Fernandez has never coached in the WNBA, he's been coaching NCAA women's basketball for decades, and offers a sharp pivot from Chris Koclanes. Fernandez stuck with USF for over 20 years after he was hired in 2000, and he built the team into one of the more potent mid-major programs during that time. USF went to 9 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, and he will depart the team with an overall 485-317 win-loss record.
Fernandez has also enjoyed coaching stints with Team USA, and worked as an assistant coach with he gold-medal winning 2025 U19 team and the 2024 U18 squad. He coached Courtney Williams as a college student before she went on to play with the Connecticut Sun — who were then coached by Curt Miller, the current GM of the Wings.
There is one role Fernandez may have to give up: he's currently president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, a position he earned in April of this year.
Jose Fernandez will have his work cut out for him
It's no secret that the Wings need a strong leader who has a plan and a sense of direction for the team, and in that respect, Fernandez will certainly have to begin from the ground up. Dallas finished the 2025 season in last place with a 10-34 record, but the roster is packed with talent and there's plenty of hope that the right coach can unlock it.
In addition to Bueckers, the Wings have a strong young core that includes Aziaha James and Diamond Miller, Maddy Siegrist, and JJ Quinerly. It's unclear if veteran Arike Ogunbowale will stick with the team, but assuming so, Fernandez may well have the know-how to push the Wings to their maximum potential.