When the New York Liberty declined to renew Sandy Brondello’s contract, less than four days after their first-round exit from the WNBA playoffs and a year removed from their first-ever WNBA title, it became clear that the franchise was preparing to take a big swing.

“We need to nail this,” sixth-year general managerJonathan Kolb said in a September exit interview.

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“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.”

Close to two months later, that swing connected. The Liberty have agreed to hire longtime Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco as their next head coach, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who also reported that Liberty officials and DeMarco’s agent finalized the terms of the deal on Friday.

DeMarco has served in various roles with the Warriors, first under Mark Jackson and then under Steve Kerr, and helped Kerr launch the NBA’s latest dynasty, which resulted in four rings from 2015 to 2022.

He has previous head-coaching experience, too, as he’s led the Bahamian senior men’s national team since 2019.

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In addition to working as a player development coach, DeMarco’s run with the Warriors saw him manage the team’s defense, according to ESPN’s report, which included that DeMarco was especially hands-on with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole when they were playing for Golden State.

The Liberty considered former Brooklyn Nets assistant Will Weaver, Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela and current Phoenix Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver, among other candidates, per ESPN.

The Liberty appeared poised to defend their 2024 WNBA championship during the 2025 season. Injuries got in the way.

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After starting the year 9-0, they went 18-17 the rest of the regular season before ultimately losing a first-round winner-take-all Game 3 to the Mercury, who eventually got swept in the WNBA Finals by the Las Vegas Aces.

Several New York players were sidelined throughout the year, but missing center Jonquel Jones — a one-time league MVP and one-time WNBA Finals MVP — and forward Breanna Stewart — a two-time league MVP and two-time WNBA Finals MVP — for significant time was a hearty blow to their frontcourt.

The Liberty notably added Emma Meesseman midseason to try to bolster their injury-riddled roster. But despite

 

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This story is being updated.

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The decision was made anyway. Yet, splitting with a coach is merely half the equation. There’s an easy case to be made that the Liberty underperformed even with their starters available. They lost to Hammon’s Aces in the 2023 Finals despite Las Vegas losing two starters due to injury in the days prior to Game 4. Las Vegas came back from double digits in the final minutes to upset New York on its home court. Even in the championship year, the Liberty never reached full octane and nearly lost the trophy in a nail-biter Game 5.

The Liberty will begin the coaching search immediately and should do so with urgency. There is a two-team expansion draft upcoming and a bonanza of a free agency that includes 75% of the league, with the current CBA expiring at the end of October. They’re in reset mode, making an already tenuous offseason more difficult at a critical juncture.

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The “ever-evolving future of the WNBA” and the New York Liberty’s desire to move with it is what ultimately prompted the team to part ways with head coach Sandy Brondello, general manager Jonathan Kolb said Thursday.

“Very serious thought and consideration was made to retaining Sandy, but ultimately we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time,” the sixth-year general manager said in an exit interview.

The Liberty announced earlier this week that they declined to renew Brondello’s contract a year after she won the franchise its first WNBA championship. The Liberty reached back-to-back Finals in her four-year tenure and reached the playoffs every season. Those four berths are tied with Richie Adubato for most consecutive by a Liberty head coach (1999-2002).

They were favored to repeat at the start of the season until injuries sank their title defense. Kolb praised the job Brondello did this season while juggling absences from top contributors Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu, as well as several other players.

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“You’re somewhat playing with fire if you make decisions based on the past,” Kolb said. “I think our organization has always taken pride in being innovative and looking forward and being future-oriented and process-based.”