to fire Sandy Brondello this week<\/a> that it would come with some scrutiny and plenty of questions. The Liberty general manager did his best to answer some of them Thursday when speaking to reporters for the first time the season ended.\u00a0<\/p>\nAnd it was abundantly clear Kolb understands the momentous importance of what happens next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to nail this,\u201d Kolb said Thursday in referencing his third coaching search since he stepped into the job in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandy Brondello reacts on the Liberty sideline during a game on Sept. 9, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Kolb said he believed the Liberty were confronting a \u201cfork-in-the-road moment\u201d for the franchise, despite only being a year removed from its first WNBA title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can stand still,\u201d Kolb said, \u201cor you can embrace change and move forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kolb chose to do the latter Tuesday when he decided to not pick up the team option on Brondello\u2019s contract for 2026 to end a four-year relationship that peaked with a celebratory parade down Manhattan\u2019s Canyon of Heroes last fall.<\/p>\n
Kolb stressed his decision to dump Brondello was part of a \u201cthorough\u201d evaluation process that extended beyond this season. He also emphasized the franchise\u2019s \u201cpride in being innovative and\u2026 future-oriented\u201d as part of the reason why it had to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision was in no way punitive, nor was it reactive \u2014 but it\u2019s instead rooted in being proactive. Nor was this decision based solely on the results this past season,\u201d Kolb said. \u201cUltimately we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a results-based organization. This is not about not winning or winning. It\u2019s 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\u2019re talking about on the floor.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brondello was widely believed to be on the hot seat in 2024, but the Liberty winning a title seemingly bought her time. Kolb said New York leaned into continuity this season by bringing Brondello back with its core.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Liberty opened 2025 with a franchise-best 9-0 start before injuries impeded them the rest of the way. They finished 27-17 and in fifth place before being bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Mercury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brondello\u2019s sometimes questionable rotation decisions and conservative use of the bench, especially down the stretch, were points of contention. She was outcoached at times throughout the season and, most notably, during the Mercury series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Players backed Brondello after the stunning Game 3 loss, but Kolb, in his commitment to \u201ckeep pushing the New York Liberty to new heights,\u201d felt it was necessary to bring a \u201cfreshness and an energy\u201d to the group, anchored by Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Liberty are going to take their time in finding Brondello\u2019s replacement. <\/p>\n
Kolb said the Liberty have a \u201cvery clear vision\u201d of qualities their ideal candidate would possess, though Kolb kept specifics close to his vest to avoid people from taking his comments as shade toward Brondello.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Part of being innovative is having a coach that understands modern basketball principles on both sides of the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart watch from the Liberty bench during their Game 2 loss to the Mercury on Sept. 17, 2025. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Sources have said the Liberty are interested in a candidate with NBA experience, and Kolb acknowledged as such when he said Brondello\u2019s successor doesn\u2019t need to have prior WNBA experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to have a really diverse pool of candidates to speak with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several people around the NBA and WNBA have said the Liberty coaching job is an attractive opportunity \u2014 not only because of the team\u2019s recent success but because of the clear commitment from ownership to invest in the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Liberty have led the way with having larger, more robust front office staff. They also tout their top-notch player experience, and are building an 75,000-square-foot practice facility that\u2019s set to open in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The WNBA\u2019s landscape is changing. For years, premier coaching candidates were slim pickings, in part, because of the league\u2019s and teams\u2019 lack of resources. But that\u2019s not the case now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandy Brondello yells out instructions during the Liberty\u2019s season-ending loss on Sept. 19, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cCandidates are now looking at this league not as a stepping stone but as a destination,\u201d Kolb said, \u201cand that should be tremendously exciting. And so for me, I feel that the pool is vast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no taking away Brondello\u2019s impact on the Liberty. She leaves as the franchise\u2019s all-time winningest coach, and her name is forever etched in the team\u2019s history as the first coach to lead the Liberty to the league\u2019s ultimate triumph.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually think Sandy did a good job navigating this group through uncharted waters, through injuries and a lack of availability, and we\u2019ve got a great level of appreciation for Sandy Brondello the head coach,\u201d Kolb said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the Liberty want a new voice to lead them into their next era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pressure doesn\u2019t intimidate Jonathan Kolb.\u00a0 It\u2019s something he and the Liberty franchise that he represents lean into. They…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,3457,82,630],"class_list":["post-168896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}