Not just anyone could handle leading the Dallas Wings into the future.
With new facilities on the way, superstar Paige Bueckers on the roster and the rights to three first-round draft selections over the next two seasons, including a lottery pick in 2026, pressure to win is high for the franchise.
That’s why, after a 10-34 season in 2025, the Wings parted ways with first-year head coach Chris Koclanes in September and immediately began a search for a new leader. Dallas found it in former South Florida women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez, whom Wings general manager Curt Miller introduced Thursday at a news conference at Reunion Tower.
“This is the franchise I wanted to work for,” Fernandez said during his opening remarks. “This is the team I wanted to coach.”
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Fernandez, whose hiring was announced Oct. 27, had been the head coach at USF since 2000. During his tenure with the Bulls, Fernandez earned almost 500 career wins and guided more than 100 players into professional basketball careers. He led South Florida to 19 or more wins in 14 consecutive seasons and 19 postseason berths, including 10 NCAA tournament appearances.
Dallas’ new coach has championship goals in mind for the Wings franchise, which has experienced just one winning season since moving to North Texas and has hired five coaches in the last seven seasons. Criticism of the team’s poor returns seemed to be at an all-time high last year, when the Wings gained an influx of fans after the arrival of Bueckers, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick.
“This job wasn’t for everyone,” Miller said. “I was very honest and transparent with our candidates and our candidate pool that this job is a tough job. The scrutiny that comes, the expectation that comes right now with the Dallas job is extremely high.”
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Fernandez welcomed that pressure.
“A lot of people were scared about this job. I wasn’t scared,” Fernandez said. “I thrive on pressure. I thrive on chaos.”
The women’s basketball community is high on Fernandez, a longtime friend of legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma. Bueckers played under Auriemma at UConn, helping deliver the program its 12th NCAA title in 2025.
Auriemma endorsed Fernandez’s abilities and has already given him some advice on coaching Bueckers, the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year and one of the faces of the league.
“He was very plain and simple when he talked to me about Paige,” Fernandez said. “Great players want to be coached. She wants to be coached and held accountable, and I think the things that we’re going to do in the half court and the open floor are going to suit her, so I’m really excited to get to work with her.”
The Wings also boast international talent, including Li Yueru and Luisa Geiselsöder. Fernandez has coached players from more than 22 different countries and said his South Florida teams played in a pro-style with a lot of Euro influence.
And, having experienced the rise of NIL and the NCAA transfer portal, Fernandez is familiar with navigating the type of player movement common in the pros. He said his main priority right now is getting to know the players on the Wings roster, some of whom were in attendance at Thursday’s news conference.
“I’m super excited to play for Jose. Played against him when I was at Villanova,” Wings forward Maddy Siegrist said. “I’ve heard nothing but great things.”
Now that introductions are over, the work begins.
Fernandez will have to assemble a staff, which he foresees as one full of professional experience. The new Wings roster will be built over the next several months.
The WNBA draft lottery is approaching and the league is coming up on an unprecedented free agency. While the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement initially expired on Oct. 31, negotiations between the players’ union and the league on a new deal will continue until the new Nov. 30 deadline thanks to a 30-day extension.
More than 100 players will be free agents in 2026, when the WNBA will add two more teams that will build rosters through an expansion draft.
Who will be on the Wings’ opening day roster is to be determined, but regardless, Fernandez envisions a team where everyone knows their role and the best players have the ball in their hands. He said the Wings will play with great pace and great spacing. The playbook will be expanded, Dallas will look to score early in transition and the team will play efficiently in the halfcourt.
“This won’t be the same old Dallas Wings,” Fernandez said. “Change is coming, and we’re going to win.”
Welcome to Dallas, Coach! See photos from the Wings’ introduction of head coach Jose Fernandez at Reunion Tower
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