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In a little over a month, seven teams – the Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics – have fired or “parted ways” with their coaches. Four teams (the Mystics, Fever, Dream, and the Las Vegas Aces) also parted ways with their GMs over the same period.
The reasons for each firing aren’t immediately clear; while some of the teams had struggled throughout what has largely been considered the biggest season in recent WNBA history, others appeared to thrive. Tanisha Wright led the Dream to the playoffs in 2023 and 2024; Christie Sides was credited with having pulled the Fever from an awful start to the season, and appeared to work exceptionally well with new star Caitlin Clark; the Fever made the playoffs for the first time in almost 10 years as a result.
Other reasons are more straightforward: Michael Winger is president of the Monumental Basketball, which manages the Mystics and the NBA’s Washington Wizards. He and Mystics head coach Eric Thibault weren’t in alignment over the future of the team, and Winger had previously noted restructuring the team’s leadership was always on the cards – and it’s probable that the end of the season provided the perfect opportunity to do so. Eric’s father, Michael Thibault, was also fired from his position as the team’s GM.
Teams firing and hiring coaches isn’t anything new, but in a league of 12 teams, it’s startling that over half are seeking new leadership. So why are so many WNBA teams firing their coaches?
The league itself has been quiet on the topic. Per general league operations, coaching staff decisions are left up to each team, and requests for comment to …
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