New York Liberty GM on Sandy Brondello split: A ‘proactive’ choice to ‘bring freshness’ and ‘energy’ to team

One season removed from their first championship, the New York Liberty are in search of their third head coach since 2019. Earlier this week, the organization announced they would not renew Sandy Brondello’s contract. In four seasons, Brondello recorded a 107-53 record, making her the winningest coach in Liberty history. 

So, why the change?

“At the outset. I think it’s really important that I stress and emphasize that this decision was in no way punitive, nor was it reactive, but it’s instead rooted in being proactive. Nor was this decision based solely on the results of this past season,” New York general manager Jonathan Kolb told a group of media Thursday morning. 

“I actually think Sandy did a good job navigating this group through unchartered waters, through injuries and a lack of availability, and we’ve got a great level of appreciation for Sandy Brondello, the head coach, as well as Sandy Brondello, the person. This decision comes after a thorough examination of what the New York Liberty need as we move forward into a future of an ever evolving WNBA,” Kolb told reporters Thursday morning during a press conference at Barclays Center. 

Kolb likened this moment in franchise history as a “fork in the road.” Heading into 2025, New York saw value in continuity, so they stuck with Brondello. After the season, the organization saw the opportunity to follow a league-wide trend of change. 

“Coming out of this season and really seeing an influx of change on many teams, it made the decision timeline tangible and one that we can be actionable on,” Kolb said. “You can stand still, or you can embrace change and move forward. My commitment is to keep pushing the New York Liberty to new heights. We believe that embracing this change will bring a freshness and an energy to our group,” he added. 

Kolb also confirmed assistant coach Olaf Lange will not return, but decisions about the rest of the staff have not been discussed or decided. Lange and Brondello have been married for 20 years. 

Kolb declined to answer what the organization is looking for in its next coach, lest the list be used to imply what Brondello lacked. But internally, the Liberty have a vision of the future and the type of skillsets that will “bulletproof” the organization moving forward. 

“Part of that is to just make it so that no opponent can take everything away. That’s by making certain that our roster doesn’t have any real redundancies where they’re not necessary in terms of reinforcement if an injury does take place, but to provide the ultimate level of optionality for our coach to be able to tap into when needed based on what they feel is necessary to have on the floor at that time,” Kolb said. 

The vision for the future also includes addressing deficiencies that may have been illuminated in 2025, but have existed over time. 

“Our problems this year — not taking health into consideration — they’ve been the same problems. I think that the scouting report on us is probably to be incredibly physical with us. It’s probably to push us out on the perimeter, and it’s probably to be really, really physical,” Kolb said. 

Skillset redundancies and a lack of physicality point more to roster construction and player execution than coaching issues. Roster construction, of course, falls on the front office to manage. 

While Kolb picked his words carefully, Thursday’s press conference offered a glimpse into the future of coaching in New York and throughout the WNBA. 

In many ways, Brondello is a players coach. She is extremely good at tapping into the personal and professional gifts of her player to establish trust and create buy-in. Her laissez faire style works for a team looking to play a fluid, positionless style of basketball. 

Under Brondello, any player at any given time can step up, and players appreciate that level of trust. However, what happens when a team effectively takes away options? Can a Brondello-led team shift from a hands-off to a more authoritative playing style? Sometimes, it appeared the team needed more structure, especially during crunch time.

“Spacing has been an issue for us. I think that we tend to stagnate as the clock winds down and the pressure mounts and we go east-west a tremendous amount. Some of that could be personnel based. We have to really look at that,” Kolb said. 

In addition to spacing, which would fall under the purview of a coaching staff, New York wants to be a stronger defensive team. 

“We took huge steps back defensively this year as a collective, especially on the glass — we plummeted. We have to find out why. Is that personnel based or not? So I think we want to get back to being who we have been, but also solving the problems that we still found success through,” he added. 

When asked by CBS Sports what future proofing means for innovation at the front office level, Kolb. “We’re very growth minded here. We want to continue to expand our footprint internationally. I think that that’s going to be really important as we move into the new rules that will be under the next CBA iteration,” the 16-year WNBA executive noted. 

Although the next CBA — which remains in flux due to intense and ongoing labor negotiations — presents unknowns, Kolb and his team have already started establishing what they believe will be their next evolution. Plans for any given offseason begin well before the final game of a season. In fact, many of Kolb’s moves in the past have been years in the making. The acquisition of players like Natasha Cloud and Emma Meesseeman happened over months and years of conversations. 

To that end, it wouldn’t be surprising if New York has a list of candidates in mind. However, Kolb did not disclose timeline details. “We want to take as long as it takes to find the right person. Obviously we’d love for that to be on the on the sooner end of things, but we’re not going to rush anything …we need to nail this,” he said. 

“If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve to get the best, and so we’ll take the time necessary, but no timetable on it right now,”he added. 

As far as the players, Kolb declined to comment on the conversations he had with players about the decision not to renew Brondello’s contract. Unrestricted free agents like Breanna Stewart and Natasha Cloud were vocal about respect and support for Brondello. Their comments after losing to the Phoenix Mercury imply they wouldn’t have approved of the dismissal. Kolb noted the organization will always take its players feedback into serious account, but this decision was ultimately his. 

“We pride ourselves in being a player-led organization, but at the same time, I’m also proud of the respect that we built from the front office to the players, in the sense that there’s a level of trust that leadership will make decisions. We had exit meetings, and we go through those thoroughly with our players, but ultimately the decision is mine,” Kolb said.

So what do we know about where New York make look next? 

A coach with the ability to empower a five-out, positionless offense is still a priority in New York. With that, a head coach and staff that can spread the floor effectively to service more paint touches is critical, and Kolb may do well to focus on coaches gifted with pick-and-roll offense and establishing movement in the halfcourt. 

Additionally, the Liberty want to return to their defensive identity. Players like Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton fit what Kolb wants to see. New York will again tap into International talent, while also being stealth when scouting and recruiting U.S.-born talent. Kolb also mentioned unlocking an offensive identity that frees up 2020 first overall pick Sabrina Ionescu. 

“She’s one of the best shooters in the world with immense gravitational pull, and I just think that there’s ways that we can continue to evolve there,”Kolb said. 

Part of that evaluation includes observing how Ionescu and Clud worked together, and if they are the right backcourt duo for the future. The organization felt they missed the opportunity to maximize Cloud’s off-ball production in ways that open up Ionescu’s game. 

“These are all things that we’ve been considering, and we’ll continue to consider. And it also will be heavily influenced by whomever assumes the eventual head coaching role,” he said.

Finding an available coach with the experience of Brondello is a lofty goal. As the profile of the WNBA grows, coaches retaining a position through several contract extensions may be a thing of the past. 

Brondello was in her 13th season as a WNBA head coach, though only the last four were with New York — she coached the San Antonio Stars in 2010 and the Phoenix Mercury from 2015-2021. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who was hired in 2010, holds the title as the longest-tenured WNBA head coach. Second place is occupied by Becky Hammon, who is in her fourth year with the Las Vegas Aces.

Kolb said longevity like Reeve’s will be hard to emulate in today’s WNBA. 

“This league is different than just a couple of years ago, let alone that long ago. And I just think it’s more about an evaluation of the league and how the league is changing and who is coming into this league and will be leading these organizations on the floor,” Kolb said. 

He and the Liberty are more focused on sustained success than the wins or losses in any given snapshot. “This is not a results based organization. This is not about not winning or winning. It’s about how do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a real, sustainable way, as the league does evolve in the ways we’re talking about on the floor,” he added. 

To say a coaching role isn’t based on winning seems idyllic, at best. Furthermore, Brondello’s tenure is the best in franchise history. New York seemingly believes it was entering a plateau that could limit their championship window. Is it realistic to imagine a new head coach — whether they are a first-time head coach or an experienced NBA or NCAA assistant– can ensure the team is a contender?

Hammon may be the new blueprint. After a 16-year WNBA career, she spent eight years as an assistant to Gregg Popovich in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. Las Vegas is the six-time WNBA All-Star’s first head coaching job, and she won the championship in her first two seasons. (Though it’s worth noting former New York Liberty head coach Bill Laimbeer handed Hammon a roster with three consecutive No. 1 draft picks, including four-time league MVP and generational talent, A’ja Wilson.)

But the upside of starting a coaching search one season removed from a championship is the Liberty job will attract high-caliber candidates, including ones from outside the WNBA. 

“I don’t feel this is a place we need to sell. I think this is a place that is a privilege to work at, and it’s a privilege to have a fan base such as ours that is so impassioned that they’re the soul of what we do. And if that resonates with a candidate, we’ll be excited to learn more about them,” Kolb said. 

When asked if WNBA experience was a top priority in candidates, Kolb was noncommital. 

“I don’t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate. I think that we want to have a really diverse pool of candidates to speak with,” he said. “I also think these are opportunities for organizations to learn about ourselves from candidates, so we’re excited about the opportunity.”