Analysis: Briann January among possible names to replace Noelle Quinn as Storm coach

The Seattle Storm coaching search seemingly crystallized or at the very least the pool of possible candidates became more interesting Tuesday morning when the New York Liberty fired coach Sandy Brondello in a move that surprised many in the WNBA.

A year after guiding the Liberty to their first league championship, Brondello is looking for a job.

New York got off to a hot start in 2025 and won its first nine games before a slew of injuries – the team’s Big Three of Breana Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones collectively missed 32 games – resulted in an 18-17 record the rest of the way and a disappointing fifth-place finish at 27-17.

The Liberty won their first-round playoff opener in overtime against the Phoenix Mercury despite Stewart suffering a knee injury that hampered her during a Game 2 blowout loss.

Three days after Sunday’s defeat and an earlier-than-expected elimination, the Liberty announced Brondello, who had a two-year contract with a team option in 2026, is not returning next year.

During four years with the Liberty, Brondello, 57, made the playoffs every season, including trips to the WNBA Finals in 2023 and 2024. She’s the winningest coach in franchise history with a 107-53 record.

Brondello, who also coached in San Antonio (2010) and Phoenix (2014-2021), is sixth on the WNBA all-time wins list at 271-181. She is 40-32 in the playoffs – the second most career wins – including a WNBA title with the Mercury in 2014.

When Phoenix fired Brondello in 2021 after taking the Mercury to the Finals, she landed with the Liberty a month later.

Several WNBA insiders believe if Brondello wants to coach next season, then she will seemingly have her choice between the Storm, who fired coach Noelle Quinn on Sunday, and expansion teams in Portland and Toronto.

There is also speculation that some teams with coaches under contract would make a coaching change to acquire Brondello.

During a wide-ranging interview on Monday, general manager Talisa Rhea said the Storm coaching search is “early in the process.”

“We’re going to compile our pool of candidates, and that will happen both with outreach and inbound calls,” Rhea said. “And once we feel like we have a really good, diverse candidate pool, we’ll start interviews and try to move as efficiently, but also thoroughly as we feel is necessary.”

Here is a look at seven coaching candidates who should be on the Storm’s list and how they should be ranked.

Sandy Brondello

Current job: Unemployed

Age: 57

Summary: Brondello finished her five-year WNBA playing career with the Storm in 2003 when she averaged 8.2 points while starting 34 games. Brondello went to the Finals in 2021 in Phoenix with Storm guard Skylar Diggins. Brondello also coached Storm center Ezi Magbegor on the Australian national team.

Tanisha Wright

Current job: Chicago Sky assistant

Age: 41

Summary: The former Storm standout and 14-year WNBA veteran spent a decade in Seattle (2005-14) where she won a league title in 2010 and ranks fifth all-time in scoring (2,591). She coached the Atlanta Dream for three years (2022-24) while compiling a 48-68 record and making two trips to the playoffs where she is 0-4.

Adia Barnes

Current job: SMU coach

Age: 48

Summary: The Dream and the Sparks, to a lesser extent, had success last year hiring college coaches Karl Smesko and Lynn Roberts who left Florida Gulf Coast and Utah, respectively. Barnes, the former UW assistant (2011-16) who thrived during an eight-year stint at Arizona, has yet to coach a game with the Mustangs. She played three seasons with the Storm (2002-04) to finish her seven-year WNBA playing career.

Briann January

Current job: Indiana Fever assistant

Age: 38

Summary: The Spokane native finished a decorated 14-year WNBA career, which included stops in Indiana, Phoenix and Connecticut, with the Storm in 2022. January is considered one of the league’s top assistants and a future head coach who will likely draw consideration from the Fire and Tempo.

Kristi Toliver

Current job: Phoenix Mercury associate head coach

Age: 38

Summary: Toliver helped resurrect a Mercury team that was 9-31 in 2023 before her arrival and has made consecutive trips to the playoffs. She was the first active WNBA player to coach in the NBA and served as an assistant for the Washington Wizards (2018-20) and Dallas Mavericks (2021-23).

Teresa Weatherspoon

Current job: Unrivaled Vinyl BC coach

Age: 59

Summary: The Hall of Famer and WNBA great didn’t get much of a chance to prove she could coach in the league after the Chicago Sky fired her after one season and a 13-27 record last year. She was the head coach of the Louisiana Tech women’s basketball team for six years (2008-14) while compiling a 99-71 record.

Sue Bird

Current job: Podcaster, USA women’s basketball managing director and Storm minority owner

Age: 44

Summary: The possibility – no matter how remote – of Bird taking over as coach will send Storm fans into a frenzy. This is pure speculation at the moment. But, Rhea needs to ask Bird if she’d consider coaching her former team. The answer is probably no, but what if it’s not?

Other candidates to consider: USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb, Baylor coach Nicki Collen, LA Sparks special assistant Latricia Trammell, Ohio State assistant Katie Smith and LA Sparks assistant and former Washington Huskies coach Mike Neighbors.