Last fall, three WNBA teams changed head coaches within nine days. Seattle declined to renew Noelle Quinn‘s contract on Sept. 21, 2025, New York moved on from Sandy Brondello on Sept. 23, and Dallas fired Chris Koclanes on Sept. 30. Koclanes’ Wings had finished 10-34, the worst record in the league.
The 2026 regular season ends Sept. 24, and the WNBA hot seat list starts with the seven teams already eliminated. Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Connecticut, Seattle, Toronto, and Portland each have four games left. The league paused for 17 days for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, which gives front office even more time to reflect if changes are necessary.
Three of those seven are finishing the first season under coaches hired last fall. Portland hired Alex Sarama on Oct. 17, 2025, Seattle hired Sonia Raman on Oct. 28, and Toronto hired Brondello on Nov. 4. The other four eliminated teams, plus one playoff team, are where the decisions sit. Los Angeles’ Lynne Roberts is the most exposed coach in the league, and Chicago’s Tyler Marsh is close behind.
All eight playoff teams posted a higher offensive rating this season than in 2025. The comparisons below use league rank for that reason.
Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts on the organization parting ways with general manager Raegan Pebley and the fact that Nneka Ogwumike is about to pass Lisa Leslie’s all-time franchise scoring record.
Coach Roberts also provides updates on Cameron Brink’s injury… pic.twitter.com/3Qj3xEa0bj
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 12, 2026
Los Angeles Sparks: Lynne Roberts
The Los Angeles Sparks are 15-25. A 124-88 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 20 eliminated them, their sixth straight season without a playoff berth. The last time they qualified was the 2020 bubble season.
Roberts went 21-23 in 2025, her first season, after two decades as a college head coach that included nine seasons at Utah. She replaced Curt Miller, who went 25-55 across two seasons.
Defense was the job heading into this season. Los Angeles allowed 108.5 points per 100 possessions in 2025. Connecticut, Dallas, and Chicago were the only teams worse.
The Sparks lost 111-87 to the Indiana Fever in June, and Roberts fielded questions about the defense in her postgame availability.
“We’re going to fix it. Full stop. We’ll fix it,” Roberts said.
Opponents are scoring 110.8 points per 100 possessions against Los Angeles this season. Toronto and Portland, both in their first year, are the only teams giving up more. The Sparks were minus-3.3 in net rating last season and are minus-5.2 now.
The roster was built to win now. The Sparks traded the pick that became Dominique Malonga to get Kelsey Plum, sent Rickea Jackson out to acquire Ariel Atkins, and brought back Nneka Ogwumike. On Aug. 2, they traded Plum to Phoenix for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick. Cameron Brink missed nine games with an ankle sprain.
Ariana Andonian, a longtime NBA executive, took over as general manager during the World Cup break. The job had been open since the Sparks fired Raegan Pebley in July. Pebley hired Roberts, and Andonian will decide her future once the season ends. Los Angeles opens its last four games at Dallas.
Chicago Sky: Tyler Marsh
The Chicago Sky are 15-25. They finished 10-34 in 2025, Marsh’s first season, after hiring him on Nov. 3, 2024. That puts him at 25-59 across two seasons.
Chicago fired Teresa Weatherspoon after one season to hire Marsh, and the Sky job was his first as a head coach at any level. The Sky kept their coaching staff intact heading into 2026, then opened the season 4-9.
No team defended worse than Chicago last season, when the Sky allowed 109.9 points per 100 possessions. That number is down to 107.6, which ties Seattle for eighth. A year ago, Chicago’s net rating was minus-12.8. It is minus-3.4 now.
In 2025, the Sky turned the ball over on 21.7% of their possessions, more than anyone in the league. They are at 16.0% this season.
Chicago scores 104.2 points per 100 possessions. Toronto, Phoenix, and Washington are the only playoff-eligible teams within a point of that, and Connecticut and Seattle are below it.
Skylar Diggins last played July 3. On Sept. 1, Chicago ruled her out for the rest of the season with a right knee injury. She averaged 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists before the injury. Rickea Jackson, Natasha Cloud, and DiJonai Carrington also missed significant time.
General manager Jeff Pagliocca‘s position keeps Marsh on this list. Pagliocca has maintained all season the roster was good enough to reach the playoffs despite the injuries.
The Sky lost 85-66 to the New York Liberty on Aug. 29 in their last game before the break, their third straight loss. Chicago returns Sept. 17 at home against the Washington Mystics.
Phoenix Mercury: Nate Tibbetts
The Phoenix Mercury are 14-26, the fourth-worst record in the league. A year ago, Tibbetts took Phoenix to the WNBA Finals after beating Minnesota and New York, and the Las Vegas Aces swept the Mercury there. Phoenix went 19-21 in 2024, his first season.
Tibbetts signed a contract reported at $1.2 million per season, the largest for a coach in WNBA history. A 99-89 loss to Atlanta eliminated Phoenix. It is the first time Tibbetts has missed the playoffs as a WNBA head coach, and Alyssa Thomas‘ first playoff miss since 2016.
During the Finals run, Phoenix gave up 100.4 points per 100 possessions, fifth-fewest in the league. This season’s group allows 108.6. Ten teams have been better. Phoenix finished 2025 at plus-3.2 in net rating and sits at minus-3.8.
Phoenix was 11-19 at the trade deadline when it acquired Plum. She played five games and 105 minutes before the Mercury ruled her out for the season with a lower leg injury. Through her first four games in Phoenix, she averaged 17.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 53.5% shooting.
Plum is headed for unrestricted free agency after signing a one-year contract with Los Angeles. General manager Nick U’Ren traded away what will be a lottery pick to get her.
During the break, Tibbetts worked the World Cup on the Team USA staff with Mercury guard Kahleah Copper.
New York Liberty: Chris DeMarco
The New York Liberty are 24-16. They clinched a sixth straight playoff berth last month. DeMarco is the only coach on this list still playing for something.
The standard in New York is a title. Brondello won the 2024 championship with the Liberty and was let go after a first-round exit the following season. DeMarco came from the Golden State Warriors, where he was part of four NBA championships.
The Liberty introduced DeMarco in December 2025. He stayed on as a Warriors assistant until Jan. 1.
“It was a no-brainer that this is the best opportunity in the WNBA,” DeMarco said.
New York was 4-4 in late May and 13-11 in mid-July before winning 10 of its next 13 games. Leonie Fiebich missed 16 games with a left foot injury, and the Liberty went 9-7 without her. Sabrina Ionescu missed 13 games. Breanna Stewart is averaging 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
Satou Sabally signed with New York in free agency in April. She played 13 games and averaged 10.4 points before taking an elbow to the head from Las Vegas’ NaLyssa Smith on June 23. She has not played since.
DeMarco met with reporters on Aug. 13, before an 85-81 win over the Sparks, and said Sabally would step away from the team.
“It’s her second significant head injury in the past 12 months,” DeMarco said.
On Sept. 3, the Liberty ruled Sabally out for the rest of the season. Her first concussion came in Game 3 of the 2025 Finals, when she played for Phoenix.
In Brondello’s final season, only Minnesota and Atlanta finished ahead of New York’s plus-5.2 net rating. This year Minnesota, Golden State, Indiana, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Dallas are all above the Liberty at plus-3.7.
Sabally signed a multi-year contract in April. If New York goes out early again, the front office will be reviewing the roster and the bench for the second fall in a row.
The Liberty resume Sept. 18 at Minnesota. The 2026 playoffs begin Sept. 27.
Connecticut Sun: Rachid Meziane
The Connecticut Sun are 10-30 in their final season in Uncasville. The franchise moves to Houston and becomes the Comets in 2027. Connecticut won 11 games in 2025.
Connecticut finished last in net rating in 2025 at minus-12.9 and is last again at minus-10.9. The Sun scored 95.9 points per 100 possessions last season, fewest in the league. They are at 98.0 this season, still the fewest.
Tilman Fertitta‘s group bought the franchise for a reported $300 million. When a new owner takes over, the basketball operation usually gets evaluated from top to bottom, and no job on the bench or in the front office is safe from change.
Houston has already started. The new ownership hired Kevin Pelton as assistant general manager and vice president of analytics. Patrick Fertitta, the Comets’ alternate governor, has said he hopes team president Jennifer Rizzotti and general manager Morgan Tuck make the move to Houston.
Galatasaray, a Turkish club whose season runs from October to April, has hired Meziane as its head coach.
Associate head coach Roneeka Hodges ran the bench on June 26 while Meziane was ill, and Connecticut beat the Mystics 68-57. Hodges played for the Comets from 2005 to 2008.
Connecticut plays its last four games before the move, and the regular season ends Sept. 24.
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