The WNBA season ended with five head coaching vacancies. The Fire and Tempo hadn’t hired their first head coaches yet, and the Liberty, Storm, and Wings all parted ways with their coaches after disappointing seasons. With all those vacancies, many fans were thrilled to see some former players and current WNBA assistant coaches take on bigger roles on the sidelines.
The Fire’s hiring of Cleveland Cavaliers’ assistant coach Alex Sarama wasn’t what many fans had expected or hoped for. Another one of the few opportunities for women to be head coaches had gone to a man with no WNBA experience. The choice also highlights another trend, though. GMs obviously value previous relationships with coaching candidates when they make their decisions.
On the No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show episode from October 22, Ben Pickman noted that familiarity and alignment between a team’s GM and a potential head coach “is a starting point for a lot of these searches” rather than coaches’ resumes. While experience is still key, it may not be everything when applying to head coaching positions in the WNBA.
Connections can be important
Alex Samara wasn’t only a respected assistant coach in the NBA but also had a relationship with the Fire’s GM Vanja Černivec before landing the job in Portland. They worked together for the London Lions.
Likewise, Chris Koclanes, who landed the head coaching position with the Dallas Wings ahead of the 2025 season, had a relationship with GM Curt Miller due to their time with the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks. Koclanes was the team’s defensive coordinator while Miller was the head coach. Pickman also noted on No Offseason that Sydney Johnson, the Washington Mystics’ new head coach, “had a very close relationship with John Thompson, the former Georgetown coach, who was involved in the Washington Mystics’ hiring search.”
So, Samara is only the latest coaching candidate to benefit from their relationship with a team’s GM and likely won’t be the last.
Four head coaching positions still need to be filled
While the Fire have found a head coach, the Liberty, Wings, Storm, and Tempo are still looking. The latter three should all be interested in Sandy Brondello. The entire coaching carousel may come down to Brondello’s decision.
She just won a championship with the Liberty in 2024 and finished the 2025 season with the support of star players Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Brondello also led the Phoenix Mercury to a championship earlier in her career. She is one of the most experienced and proven candidates available and just the type of coach the Wings should want to lead Paige Bueckers or for the Seattle Storm to return to title contention. The Tempo are also reportedly interested in Brondello.
Her choice will force the franchises she didn’t pick to consider other options.