It’s already been one other offseason of great teaching turnover within the WNBA, with 3 of the league’s 13 head coaches — the Liberty’s Sandy Brondello, the Storm’s Noelle Quinn, and the Wings’ Chris Koclanes — already having been let go.
As well as, two new head coach positions — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Hearth — will herald new coaches.
Right here’s what every franchise head coach alternative presents for its potential incoming coach.
The Tempo are certainly one of two enlargement groups becoming a member of the WNBA subsequent season, and an enlargement group teaching place comes with sure benefits — together with 1) low expectations, and a pair of) the power to assemble a roster from the bounce. We noticed this with Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, who had a significantly better debut season than different rookie coaches who didn’t have a hand in assembling their rosters.
Whereas enlargement groups aren’t inherently essentially the most fascinating teaching jobs, there’s one thing to be stated for the truth that a coach can are available with a selected imaginative and prescient for find out how to assemble and run a group on each ends of the ground, and subsequently choose gamers accordingly. That makes the Tempo place significantly interesting.
Whoever takes over the Liberty is available in with championship expectations. Common Supervisor Jonathon Kolb opted to not renew Sandy Brondello’s contract — not as a result of she’s a nasty coach, however as a result of it’s successfully championship-or-bust in New York, and the Liberty massively underperformed this season.
The Liberty head coach place is interesting partly as a result of a core of Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart ought to give the Liberty a combating probability, whatever the items round them.
No matter who precisely the Liberty convey again subsequent season, they need to be within the combine for a title run. And, they’re one of many WNBA’s best-run franchises, with simple funding from possession and a passionate fanbase only a yr faraway from a championship.
It was no shock that Noelle Quinn was fired after one other disappointing Storm season. And, it’s not fully clear precisely the place the roster will stand heading into subsequent season. However the Storm, on the very least, have one of the crucial promising younger prospects within the recreation in Dominique Malonga. Attending to work with such a gifted teenager is inherently an unbelievable alternative.
Plus, the Storm have been one of many trailblazers in girls’s sports activities — and whoever takes over this system joins one of the crucial winningest franchises in WNBA historical past.
Head coach Chris Koclanes struggled mightily in his first season as head coach, and there was a very vivid highlight on him, contemplating Paige Bueckers’ addition to the squad.
Koclanes was underneath fireplace for a lot of the season, because the Wings completed with the league’s worst report, and Arike Ogunbowale had the worst season of her WNBA profession. There’s simple expertise in Dallas, and final season went so poorly that it looks like a brand new coach has low expectations that ought to be simple to exceed.
Of notice, a fifth head coach place — the Portland Hearth’s — technically stays open, but it surely’s reportedly going to be Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Alex Sarama.
