Ranking the WNBA Head Coaching Openings
Which of the 5 (or 7?) available head coaching gigs is most attractive to the field of potential candidates? Plus, what does that mean for the Sky's search?
The W’s newest franchise—the Golden State Valkyries—acted quickly to appoint Natalie Nakase as the franchise’s head coach on October 10th, but the W’s only news on head coaching jobs since has been of further departures—meaning the chase for the top available names on the market has quickly become a crowded one. As we approach the start of November, at least 5 (and as many as 7) teams are left to fight for the few truly proven names remaining on the job market—highlighted by the recently fired Curt Miller, Minnesota assistant Katie Smith and Sun coach Stephanie White (whose name continues to circulate in spite of the year left on her deal with Connecticut). With so few high-profile names left and so many jobs open, teams will have to start taking risks, but a risk is one thing that the candidates themselves will not want to take (look how it worked out for Teresa Weatherspoon last year). Let’s consider which of the jobs carries the most and least risk and what that means as the Sky continue their search to replace Weatherspoon.
Atlanta Dream
Risk Score: Medium
There’s a lot of good that comes with taking the Atlanta job, and it starts with the players already under contract for 2025. Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard are all going to be back with the Dream while key supporting pieces like Haley Jones and Nia Coffey also have a year remaining on their respective deals. While a free agent exodus is possible next winter, the same is true for virtually every team league wide—with Kalani Brown (DAL) and Lexie Brown (LA) holding the only two non-rookie contracts that run beyond the end of next season. Any coach that goes to Atlanta also stands to gain from working alongside a GM who is not only experienced but well-connected league wide in the form of Dan Padover—a definite plus. The concern, then, is how you upgrade this team to the level where they can compete for a WNBA title. The quality of the roster is too good to expect a high draft pick anytime soon, and the stabs Padover made to quickly upgrade the roster last season (Canada and Tina Charles) failed to have the intended effect. Time and further development from Howard, one of the W’s great talents, may be enough, but the Dream may also need one more big roster change to truly push for a title—meaning the next coach could easily fall victim to championship aspirations that this current roster falls just shy of achieving.
Chicago Sky
Risk Score: High
Let’s start with the positives. Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso are signed to deals that last two more years with an option of a third in 2027. A new, purpose-built practice facility is on the way in 2026. And further young talent may follow this year’s rookie standouts through the door soon as the Sky could make 5 first round picks in the next three drafts. However, there’s also lots of warts that any coach has to consider. Weatherspoon was fired after just one season where she largely outperformed expectations. Free agents have routinely left for greener pastures the last few offseason, and the franchise—even with a marquee player like Kahleah Copper—has struggled to attract big names of its own. The front office is led by a GM with little-to-no previous executive experience in the W. Even the picks aren’t as good as they sound with three of the five firsts the team has likely to fall outside the top-half of the opening round. The potential here is huge, but there’s only 13 WNBA head-coaching jobs—meaning every job comes with these positives. And therein lies the issue Chicago has faced in several areas recently—good simply isn’t good enough anymore in the WNBA.
Connecticut Sun
Risk Score: High
The Connecticut job, as it stands, is not actually open as 2023 Coach of the Year Stephanie White has a year remaining on her current deal, but Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times has linked White with the open jobs in Chicago and Indiana—suggesting it could eventually be another vacancy. If it does open, it’s comfortably the most volatile roster situation of any of these seven teams—with only Marina Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa under guaranteed contracts for next season. If the current core returns, there’s little reason to expect anything other than another deep run in the postseason, but a complete rebuild could also be on the cards if Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner move elsewhere with the Sun owing the Sky their 2025 first-rounder and a first-round swap in 2026.
Dallas Wings
Risk Score: Medium
The Wings are a tricky team to evaluate because there’s few franchises league-wide (much less on this list) who have a player as talented as Arike Ogunbowale. However, the failure of the franchise to find the right balance (especially at the defensive end) around her during Latricia Trammell’s tenure is something the next coach is likely going to have to continue to work to address next season with the superstar guard set to hit the free agent market in 2025. With Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally set for their own free agency this winter, the roster could look quite different next year, and it’s fair to wonder if Ogunbowale will stick around if that pair isn’t adequately replaced and the team struggles again next season. Alternatively, a top coach might look at the defensive progress that Trammell made in 2023, the team’s strong performance in last year’s playoffs against the eventual champion Aces, and the injury issues they suffered from last year and think that a quick turnaround in 2025 is more than possible. I’m not ready to say that opinion is wrong, but Dallas would also hardly be the first team that never found the perfect mix of players around an elite scorer.
Indiana Fever
Risk Score: Low
Generally speaking, if the risk of taking the job is low, it’s probably not available and—like with the Sun—this one technically isn’t just yet. In fact, if White stays put in Connecticut or chooses to take over one of the other teams listed here, it’s still possible this job never becomes available and Christie Sides returns. If the job does become available, it’s a great spot to be in. Caitlin Clark is already an all-WNBA player and Aliyah Boston should soon follow given her level of play in her first two seasons as a professional. Two players alone aren’t a guarantee to win, but others will inevitably be attracted to join up with the duo in free agency next offseason if the current roster can’t keep progressing along with it’s two stars throughout the course of 2025.
Los Angeles Sparks
Risk Score: Medium
The Sparks’ situation is not all that dissimilar to the Sky’s, and the recent history of the two franchises is littered with notable free agent departures. However, a few key differences mean the Sparks are better positioned and a more attractive landing spot for a head coach. First, the Sparks’ overwhelming odds to get the #1 pick in the draft. With Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson in town, LA already has a young duo whose games are almost perfect complements to one another. If they do strike gold and get the top pick, Paige Bueckers could soon make that duo of under-25 stars a trio. Whoever the Sparks pick, the new coach will have at least three more years of team control on three-lottery picks from the last two drafts. On top of that, the presence of Dearica Hamby means the Sparks already have a bonafide all-WNBA contender in house for at least one more season. One thing the Sparks do not have is a dedicated practice facility (no doubt a partially contributing factor to the aforementioned free agent departures). Based on that negative in the recruiting column and the uncertainty that inevitably surrounds any team packed with young players, there is risk here, but LA are just behind the (not yet vacant) Fever on the list of jobs that look most attractive to me.
Washington Mystics
Risk Score: Medium
The Mystics are truly the middle road of WNBA head-coaching opportunities because of their largely stable circumstances. They have a pair of standout veterans (Atkins & Sykes), a couple of young players with serious potential (Edwards & Austin) and a nice collection of proven role players (Dolson, Vanloo, etc.). They also have all of their future picks, and a stable roster situation ahead of 2025 (Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is their only true free agent). And though that all combines to give them a high floor, their ceiling is also limited by the types of players on the current roster. As talented as they are, I don’t think you could call Atkins or Sykes a #1 option for a serious title contender and—though they have potential—it’s too soon to slap that label on either of the young front court players either. To take this job, a candidate should first understand the franchise’s direction as there’s potential here, but it is unlikely to be a quick turnaround and the next coach will need to be afforded considerable patience.
What does this all mean for the Sky?
In short, the circumstances around the league are less than ideal for the Sky. As Golden State have already recruited Nakase, White feels like comfortably the top name on the market and, again, she could still just opt to return to Connecticut. Even if she does leave the Sun, Indiana looks a more attractive option unless she has any reservations about returning to the job she left back in 2016. If she’s not going to come to Chicago, the Sky probably want her to stay in Connecticut as that’s one less competitor on the market, but the competition for the remaining candidates should be intense nonetheless.
Reason being? The list of candidates is remarkably small compared to such a highly-active job market.
High-performing lead assistants are most often the top candidates for head-coaching jobs (other than re-treads like Miller), and the fact that as many as 6 coaches (depending on Sides’ future) may be fired shortens the list of viable options from this category as teams are unlikely to hire the assistant of a fired coach. With Nakase already off the market, just three lead W assistants are left (New York’s Sandy Brondello and White had no defined lead assistant on their staff last season):
Katie Smith, Minnesota
Pokey Chatman, Seattle
Kristi Toliver, Phoenix
Smith, despite her 17-51 record with New York from 2018-19, is likely to be one of the top candidates league wide—meaning several teams will likely be after her. Chatman (now also an assistant GM with Seattle), on the other hand, is not going to leave the Storm and Toliver—though an inevitable WNBA head coach—may be quite patient before leaving Phoenix as I can only assume Mat Ishbia paid her handsomely to be the centerpiece of Nate Tibbetts’ staff.
Beyond Smith and Toliver, there are plenty of capable assistants further down WNBA benches (names like Briann January and Rebekkah Brunson come to mind), but it’s hard to feel much more confident throwing one of those names into the head-coaching fire than bring back Weatherspoon for another season. If not a WNBA assistant, a recently-fired head coach (Miller seems the only super likely option though Trammell would be interesting) or a high-profile college coach or NBA assistant are the other pools of potential candidates. While Reese and Cardoso have pull, neither of Geno Auriemma or Dawn Staley is leaving their current job to come to the W anytime soon while most NBA assistants will bring the same learning curve that Tibbetts did (and Toliver helped manage).
If the Sky don’t act swiftly for an overall top candidate like Smith or White or aggressively for a well-positioned rising star like Toliver, they’re likely to be left carefully parsing through WNBA benches for a name that could turn out to be a smash hit but will inevitably carry many of the same deficiencies (i.e. lack of experience) that cost Weatherspoon her job after just one season.