WNBAnything Rankings 2024: Coaching Hot Seats
This week it's time to rank the comfort of the WNBA's head coaches, from relaxed and safe to those starting to feel the heat
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?
For the second edition of the WNBAnything Rankings we're moving off the court, but not too far. It's time to rank just how warm the seats are for the coaches around the league. Who's leaning back in their chair, cool as a cucumber, all while looking up properties to buy in the local area? Who's feeling the flames licking at their heels while very much renting by the month? Let's get ranking.
Part of the Furniture and Going Nowhere
12. Becky Hammon, Las Vegas
11. Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota
10. Stephanie White, Connecticut
Unless the NBA comes calling again, Becky Hammon isn't going anywhere anytime soon. You come in to a stacked roster on a franchise that's never won anything and take them over the top to back-to-back championships, you earn a lot of goodwill. Most of their key pieces are under contract through 2025, which should also help Hammon keep the Aces near the top of the pile for the foreseeable future, especially as none of them are particularly old. Of course, expectations have been raised at this point - anything other than a third straight title would probably be seen as a failure this year - but at an absolute bare minimum she'd be given next season to try to push them back to the top.
The title memories are a little more distant in Minnesota, but winning four of them keeps the recollections strong. Cheryl Reeve basically runs things for the Lynx, even though they have a separate general manager these days, and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve isn't likely to fire herself as head coach. The instability in ownership for the Timberwolves and Lynx could create issues at some point, but even if new owners gained control they'd likely leave Reeve alone to keep running the women's side. With the hot start the Lynx have jumped out to this season, she's looking even more secure than before, if that's possible.
Stephanie White may not be quite the cemented figure within her franchise that Hammon and Reeve are, but the reigning Coach of the Year is off to a 6-0 start in her second season and therefore looking thoroughly safe at present. The Sun stayed good despite losing Brionna Jones early last season and so far look like they might've improved for 2024 despite losing several important pieces in the offseason. She's never coached a WNBA team that didn't have either Tamika Catchings or Alyssa Thomas to lead the squad for her, so who knows how things might go with a different type of roster - Thomas, Jones and DeWanna Bonner are all free agents at the end of this season, so things could change quickly - but it's hard to find any fault with the results White has produced so far with the Sun.
Too Soon, Safe for Now
9. Teresa Weatherspoon, Chicago
8. Nate Tibbetts, Phoenix
We don't really know yet if either of these two are going to be good WNBA head coaches, but they're both in their first year and unless things are a complete disaster you usually get more than a season. Both also have certain elements supporting their status. Teresa Weatherspoon was a legendary leader and personality as a player, strengthened her coaching reputation with time as an assistant in the NBA (something that is becoming an increasingly common and respected element for WNBA head coach candidates), and was discussed as a possibility for several WNBA jobs before landing in Chicago. She also has the benefit of being with a franchise that's been forced into a rebuild whether they wanted to be there or not, which lowers expectations and allows her to develop alongside her young squad.
Tibbetts lacks the connection with the women's game that Weatherspoon has, but was a hot property in some NBA circles and had interviewed for several NBA head coaching jobs before taking over with the Mercury. He was also the hand-picked selection of a new front office and ownership in Phoenix, handing him reportedly the most lucrative contract in the WNBA. So they're going to give him plenty of rope even if it were to start fraying quickly. So far, Phoenix have been relatively impressive, considering Brittney Griner is yet to play in 2024 and their top-heavy roster has very few players who resemble a traditional power forward. Their defense has survived via workrate and creativity, and outside of the rock-throwing contest on Tuesday night the plan to fire as many threes as humanly possible has worked out fairly well. His introduction didn't go down too well with some fans, but if they keep playing entertaining basketball and winning a decent number of games, he should be safe for now.
Steady Growth, Seats Secure
7. Latricia Trammell, Dallas
6. Curt Miller, Los Angeles
5. Tanisha Wright, Atlanta
While we only have four franchises remaining after this group, we're still in the range where everyone looks pretty safe and only a season going painfully downhill could threaten their position. Latricia Trammell has taken the Wings forward after what felt like a couple of years of stagnation under Vickie Johnson, winning a playoff series last year for the first time since the organization was in Detroit. She seems to fit right in with the spirit of the franchise and the fans, and has earned the trust of her roster. The fragility of Satou Sabally's health could hurt her chances of winning games and taking the Wings to the next level, but indications so far this year are that they can win enough to stay afloat even without Satou. Johnson and Brian Agler only got two years apiece, but Trammell seems likely to have earned a longer stint.
Each of the teams in this group knew that the project in front of them was likely to be long-term, not just a quick fix, and Curt Miller was brought to Los Angeles as part of that plan. The franchise needed a fresh start after the disintegration under Derek Fisher, and a coach who'd already built a strong reputation and resume in Connecticut was a good fit. Last year didn't go perfectly due to injuries and inconsistencies, and the offseason probably wasn't what they wanted either with Nneka Ogwumike and Jordin Canada leaving town. However, in some ways that gives Miller a little more leeway because 2024 becomes another year where the Sparks are looking for growth and development, not necessarily prioritizing winning. As long as the front office doesn't blame him for players like Ogwumike and Canada wanting to leave, he should survive even a poor record this season.
In her third season in Atlanta (as opposed to Trammell and Miller both being in their second with their teams), Tanisha Wright could be a little less secure if the Dream don't take a meaningful step forward this year. While Rhyne Howard may be their biggest current star, this isn't just a young upstart squad anymore. They spent money on bringing in veteran pieces like Jordin Canada and Tina Charles in the offseason, and expectations have been raised. Wright was given a five-year contract extension through 2027 before last season, but all of us that follow sports know that contracts for head coaches are barely worth the paper they're printed on. Charles, a destabilizing presence on multiple teams before being out of the league last year, creates a management task that Wright hasn't really had to handle before. She looks safe for now, but if Atlanta's season goes south this year it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see her taking a big chunk of the blame.
High Expectations, Better Keep Winning
4. Sandy Brondello, New York
3. Noelle Quinn, Seattle
In all honesty, I considered putting these last two groups the other way around, but ultimately couldn't do it. Still, these well-established head coaches are this high for a reason. What does success look like for these teams in 2024? New York now have some continuity after putting their star-laden core together last year and retaining all their starters. They went to the Finals in 2023 after a regular season where they were clearly one of the top two teams. If you're aiming for progress, there's only one place left to go. In Seattle, last year was ugly, but the departures of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird were considered the key factors. Then any concept of a rebuilding youth movement was thrown in the trash when Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike agreed to sign as free agents (and the Storm gave up the No. 4 pick that became Rickea Jackson in order to trade away Kia Nurse to create the necessary cap space). Instantly, Seattle became a win-now team.
Sandy Brondello is a WNBA championship-winning head coach, and there aren't too many of those around. She also consistently made the playoffs in Phoenix over an eight-year stint. However, with rosters built around Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and often other top-tier talents like Bonner, Diggins-Smith and Penny Taylor, she was essentially supposed to. Managing big talents and big egos is a coaching skill in and of itself, but there are still some who question whether Brondello makes these squads more than the sum of their parts. That said, the Liberty had the second-best offense and third-best defense in the league last year, and could easily have won a title if it wasn't for one of the greatest teams in league history in the Aces. Unless New York really fall apart this year, it would be a surprise to see an in-season change in the head coaching spot. But anything short of a championship at the end, and they might look for someone else to take them that final step.
As a much younger head coach, Noelle Quinn doesn't have the banked track record of Brondello, but there are some similarities in their results. When handed a roster with Stewart, Bird, Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor, Quinn kept winning plenty of games in both 2021 and 2022. But both teams flamed out quickly in the playoffs. Last year, with Stewart and Bird gone, the Storm were dreadful but she largely escaped blame due to the roster changes (and was even handed a multi-year contract extension this offseason). It feels like she's achieved about what was expected each year without raising the squads beyond that, maybe even falling a little short in the postseason. With Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike now in the fold, expectations have gone back through the roof. Early performances have been okay, with solid team defensive numbers but both Loyd and Diggins-Smith shooting very poorly. Without any experience or success beyond the Storm to point to as proof of her coaching acumen, if the Storm start to falter this year it wouldn't be a huge surprise if they looked for a veteran coach to run their now-veteran squad. Or if they turned to now-part-owner Sue Bird to see if she wanted to give it a shot.
Will they see through the rebuild?
2. Eric Thibault, Washington
1. Christie Sides, Indiana
Ultimately, it was hard to look past the two franchises that have started the season with the worst records as the warmest seats for their respective head coaches. Whatever the mitigating factors around the situations, losing inevitably leads to fans, reporters and general managers starting to wonder about the person in charge of the team. Although as mentioned earlier, the last two groups could easily have been flipped. No. 4 would arguably be as reasonable as No. 1.
Eric Thibault's situation in Washington is an unusual one. A long-time assistant turning down offers elsewhere to stick around and eventually take over, only to then have some struggles in the top chair, is hardly uncommon. But taking over from your dad, who continues to be your boss, definitely is. The Mystics were okay last year, suffering through injuries to several key pieces but managing to float around .500 anyway, then making an unsurprisingly quick departure from the playoffs. In some ways the offseason may have helped Thibault's chances of keeping his job, because losing Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud for nothing significantly lowered expectations for the Mystics. They've openly admitted that this is the beginning of a new era, and that targets weren't nearly as high as in recent years with the squads built around Delle Donne. However, head coaches that are brought in to lead rebuilds often aren't around by the end of the process. All that losing makes front offices and fanbases impatient, or they simply start to wonder if the coach is up to the job - even if they were expecting to lose lots of games when the coach was hired. To be clear, Eric Thibault was not just a nepotism hire. Plenty of other teams interviewed him or even offered head coaching opportunities before Mike moved upstairs and he took over in Washington. But the shadow of his father is still looming from the office next door. If the Mystics keep losing then eventually they may have to have a very awkward family dinner.
As I said many times last year, the primary task for the Fever and Christie Sides in 2023 was to make sure they finished no higher than ninth in the standings. That mission was accomplished (with several games to spare), resulted in the prize everyone was hoping for, and now the spotlight is shining very brightly in Indiana. No one who actually follows this league was expecting the Fever to top the standings immediately, and a congested early schedule against a tough slate of opponents didn't help, but it's been a rough couple of weeks to start the season. Their defensive rating is still far and away the worst in the league, with the offense anywhere from 8th to 11th depending on which site's stats you're looking at. Caitlin Clark has had some of the struggles many of us expected, and the chemistry issues when adding such a big piece were predictable as well, but those aren't the only issues. Aliyah Boston has been inconsistent and sometimes indecisive, not looking sure where she currently fits on this squad. NaLyssa Smith was benched in favour of veteran post Temi Fagbenle, presumably due to Sides searching for some defensive help in the paint (and Fagbenle’s now injured). Similarly, expensive free agent addition Katie Lou Samuelson is now coming off the bench after Kristy Wallace was promoted to provide some perimeter defense. Meanwhile Grace Berger has disappeared from the rotation entirely while they focus on trying to get Clark's backcourt partnership with Kelsey Mitchell to work.
They may well ride this out with Sides in charge, hoping their young head coach will grow alongside her roster, similar to the plan with Weatherspoon in Chicago. Sides has been around the coaching ranks for a long time as an assistant but this is her first job in the main chair, so she's still developing like lots of her players. But there are so many eyes on the Fever now, and so much additional pressure. Maybe one more year in the lottery wouldn't be the worst result in the world, but this year's target was supposed to be the playoffs. If they fall well short, it's usually much easier to change the head coach than the players.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
As a Mystics fan who has been around long enough to remember how woeful the team was before Mike took over, I am conflicted on how to feel about the Thibaults. The roster construction is a mess, and that's on Mike. I also understand Eric had other opportunities to take a head coaching job. Hindsight is 20/20, but maybe he should have taken one of them. It's not like this current predicament was entirely unpredictable--if father hires son as coach (especially in a women's league with lots of other qualified coaching candidates) and it doesn't go well, you end up ... here.
With the Liberty, they blew the offseason. The gm deserves blame for the roster construction and the terrible KT contract.
Sandy is an average coach that literally needs the best team to win.