{"id":235736,"date":"2025-10-24T01:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T01:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235736\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T01:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T01:08:14","slug":"wnba-coaching-tracker-wings-paige-bueckers-get-new-coach-sandy-brondello-lands-with-tempo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235736\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA coaching tracker: Wings, Paige Bueckers get new coach; Sandy Brondello lands with Tempo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA coaching carousel continues to spin, and both expansion team jobs have now been filled. The Portland Fire announced that they have hired Alex Sarama, while the Toronto Tempo will hire Sandy Brondello. The Dallas Wings, meanwhile, have gone back to college and hired Jose Fernandez away from the University of South Florida.<\/p>\n

Now that the Wings, Fire and Tempo have made their decisions, two openings remain:\u00a0New York Liberty<\/a> and Seattle Storm<\/a>. All three of those teams made coaching changes earlier this offseason. The Liberty parted ways with Brondello and the Storm decided not to move forward with Noelle Quinn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tempo to hire Sandy Brondello: Former Liberty coach will lead Toronto’s WNBA expansion franchise, per report<\/p>\n

\n Robby Kalland <\/p>\n

\"Tempo<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Quinn’s departure was expected. The Storm only won one playoff series since she took over in 2021 and she was investigated last offseason for alleged bullying and harassment. Likewise, it was not all that surprising to see Koclanes relieved of his duties. He went 10-34 in his first season in charge of the Wings and did not seem cut out for the job. The Liberty’s decision to part ways with Brondello just one year after she led the franchise to its first championship, on the other hand, came as a shock<\/a> to many.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s unlikely we’ll see any further coaching changes this winter. Seven teams changed coaches last offseason, and if you count Natalie Nakase with the expansion Golden State Valkyries<\/a>, eight coaches started new jobs. One, Koclanes, has already been fired, and the only other one who could be in trouble is Tyler Marsh, who went 10-34 with the Chicago Sky<\/a>. However, if the Sky were going to move on from Marsh, they likely would have done so by now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Chicago Sky offseason outlook: What’s next for Angel Reese and Co. after a disastrous 2025 campaign<\/p>\n

\n Jack Maloney <\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Of the five teams that entered the 2025 season with established coaches, the Storm and Liberty have made changes. The Las Vegas Aces<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Phoenix Mercury<\/a>\u00a0made it to the Finals, and Becky Hammon<\/a>\u00a0and Nate Tibbets have excellent job security. As does Cheryl Reeve, despite the Minnesota Lynx’s<\/a> early exit from the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WNBA coaching tracker <\/p>\n

Dallas Wings<\/p>\n

10-34<\/p>\n

Chris Koclanes<\/p>\n

Jose Fernandez<\/p>\n

New York Liberty \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

27-17 \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Sandy Brondello \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

TBD \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Portland Fire \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

N\/A \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

N\/A \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Alex Sarama<\/p>\n

Seattle Storm \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

23-21 \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Noelle Quinn \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

TBD \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Toronto Tempo \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

N\/A \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

N\/A \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Sandy Brondello<\/p>\n

Wings<\/p>\n

Out: Chris Kloclanes<\/p>\n

After a number of years as an assistant at both the WNBA and collegiate levels — largely working under Curt Miller, who is now the Wings’ general manager — Koclanes got a chance to run the show himself. His lone season with the Wings was a disaster. He never seemed comfortable in charge, and the Wings finished in last place at 10-34 and set the league’s single-season losses record. By the end of the season, fans were chanting “We want Nola!” during games, asking for the team to replace Koclanes with assistant Nola Henry. The Wings will now search for their third coach in as many years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In: Jose Fernandez<\/p>\n

USF coach Jose Fernandez is making the leap from the college ranks to the WNBA after 25 years coaching the Bulls. After leading South Florida to 10 NCAA Tournaments, including in eight of the last 11 seasons, he’ll take over the Wings and Rookie of the Year\u00a0Paige Bueckers<\/a>, coming off a 10-34 record in 2025.<\/p>\n

Liberty <\/p>\n

Out: Sandy Brondello <\/p>\n

Brondello had a very successful tenure in charge of the Liberty. Over her four seasons in charge, the team 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, she led the Liberty to the first championship in franchise history and in 2023 she helped capture the Commissioner’s Cup title. Ultimately, those accomplishments were overshadowed by a disappointing 2025 campaign. The Liberty were beset by injuries, finished in fifth place and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Mercury.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In: TBD <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Liberty coaching search: Top potential candidates to replace Sandy Brondello after New York’s stunning move<\/p>\n

\n Jack Maloney <\/p>\n

\"Liberty<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nFire<\/p>\n

Out: N\/A<\/p>\n

In: Alex Sarama<\/p>\n

Sarama, who was born in England, has a fascinating r\u00e9sum\u00e9. He’s worked with Paris Basketball and the London Lions — where he briefly overlapped with Fire general manager Vanja \u010cernivec — as well as the Rip City Remix, the Portland Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also founded Transforming Basketball in 2023, which is “widely regarded as a globally-leading resource in basketball coach education,” and is a leading proponent of Constraints Led Approach or CLA, an innovative training technique. He was very highly regarded with the Cavaliers, but whether he works out as a head coach remains to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Portland Fire coaching hire: WNBA expansion team to hire Alex Sarama from Cleveland Cavaliers, per report<\/p>\n

\n Jack Maloney <\/p>\n

\"Portland<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n Storm <\/p>\n

Out: Noelle Quinn <\/p>\n

Quinn, who won a championship with the Storm as a player, joined the Seattle coaching staff as an assistant in 2019 immediately upon her retirement. In 2021, she was elevated to head coach after Dan Hughes stepped down due to health reasons. While she led the Storm to four playoff appearances, they won only one series despite an abundance of talent and never finished higher than sixth in the league in offensive rating. Furthermore, Quinn was investigated for alleged bullying and harassment of players. A second consecutive first-round exit in 2025 was the final straw.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In: TBD <\/p>\n

Tempo<\/p>\n

Out: N\/A<\/p>\n

In: Sandy Brondello<\/p>\n

The Liberty’s decision to shake things up was a major win for the Tempo, who were able to hire Brondello as the first coach in franchise history. Brondello is one of the best coaches in league history. She’s compiled a 269-181 lifetime record, is sixth on the all-time wins list and has won championships with two different franchises (Phoenix Mercury in 2014, Liberty in 2024). Brondello is highly regarded by her players and staff everywhere she goes, and will help set a winning culture in Toronto as the franchise begins its WNBA journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBA coaching carousel continues to spin, and both expansion team jobs have now been filled. The Portland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[8133,49,48,726,3459,1612,3460,736,3457,3461,1611,82,45204,630],"class_list":["post-235736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-becky-hammon","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago-sky","tag-dallas-wings","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-seattle-storm","tag-sports","tag-tulsa-shock","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235736","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=235736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}