Minutes after the reigning champion New York Liberty were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, Breanna Stewart sat at the podium alongside Sandy Brondello and Sabrina Ionescu. At one point, Stewart was asked about the possibility of Brondello being fired. 

“What the f—?” Stewart said under her breath, but loud enough for the microphone to catch. 

Now, the rest of the WNBA world is asking the same question after the Liberty did indeed part ways with Brondello on Tuesday. 

New York Liberty make coaching change as team chooses to not renew Sandy Brondello’s contract

Robby Kalland

New York Liberty make coaching change as team chooses to not renew Sandy Brondello's contract

Over Brondello’s four seasons in charge, the Liberty went 107-53, won a franchise-record 32 games in both 2023 and 2024, never missed the playoffs and made two Finals appearances. In 2024, Brondello led the Liberty, one of the league’s original franchises, to its first WNBA championship. She also helped the team capture the Commissioner’s Cup title in 2023. 

All of those accomplishments were ultimately overshadowed by an extremely disappointing 2025 campaign. 

Beset by injuries, the Liberty finished in fifth place and were bounced in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury. While there were certainly issues outside of Brondello’s control this summer, the team often looked out of sorts and played below its talent level — the latter was an issue throughout her tenure. In the playoffs, the offense totally collapsed and she refused to trust the bench the front office had built in the offseason. 

The Liberty only have two players — Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich — under contract for 2026, and will now have to add a coaching search to their offseason agenda. While unrestricted free agents Stewart and Ionescu both previously expressed their desire to return, it’s fair to wonder how Brondello’s dismissal may impact their decisions and those of the Liberty’s other key free agents, including Jonquel Jones, Natasha Cloud and Emma Meesseman. 

So, who might the Liberty hire to replace Brondello? Let’s examine some possible candidates. 

Sonia Raman — Assistant coach, Liberty

The Liberty hired Raman as an assistant coach prior to the season and she will likely get consideration for the top position. Not only is Raman already familiar with the organization, she has extensive previous experience as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA and as the head coach at MIT for over a decade. 

Raman specializes on the offensive side of the ball — she has to take some responsibility for how the team struggled on that side in the playoffs — and is a keen believer in analytics. She also worked on the player development side with the Grizzlies. 

Teresa Weatherspoon — Unrivaled

Weatherspoon is a Liberty legend — one of their original players, she spent seven seasons with the team and hit the most famous shot in league history during the 1999 Finals — and has over a decade of coaching experience at a number of different levels. However, her lone season as a WNBA coach with the Chicago Sky in 2024 did not go well, as the Sky finished in 10th place with a 13-27 record. She was fired weeks before the Liberty were crowned champions.

Due to her connection to the franchise, and work with Stewart’s Unrivaled venture, Weatherspoon’s name is going to come up — at least externally. But will the Liberty be willing to hand her the keys to a title contender after how things went in Chicago?

Brunson — assistant coach, LynxJanuary — assistant coach, FeverToliver — associate head coach, Mercury

We’ll group Brunson, January and Toliver together here. All three are former WNBA champions who are now rising fast in the coaching ranks. 

Brunson has been an assistant under Cheryl Reeve in Minnesota since 2020; January has been an assistant at the collegiate and G League levels, and is currently working for Stephanie White in Indiana; Toliver, who began coaching in the NBA when she was still playing in the WNBA, is now the associate head coach under Nate Tibbetts in Phoenix. 

If the Liberty want to poach a top assistant with WNBA experience — both on and off the court — from another contender, these are the top choices. 

An off-the-radar candidate?

The Liberty have the resources and reputation to hire pretty much anyone they want. In recent years, we’ve seen a few WNBA teams hire off-the-radar candidates — notably, Tibbetts in Phoenix and Rachid Meziane in Connecticut. Could the Liberty go the same route?

You don’t fire a coach as good as Brondello without having an idea of who you want to bring in. What if the Liberty have someone in mind who either hasn’t coached in the WNBA before or has been away for many years? Admittedly, we’re throwing darts, but here’s a few names that could be intriguing, even if some of them are unlikely. 

Geno Auriemma, UConn Sue Bird, retired Jenny Boucek, Indiana Pacers 
Lindsay Gottlieb, USC Kara Lawson, Duke/USA Miguel Méndez, Fenerbahçe/SpainÂ