Sandy Brondello & Noelle Quinn Exit Highlights WNBA Gender Coaching Gap

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – AUGUST 30: Head coach Sandy Brondello of the New York Liberty reacts during the first half of the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena on August 30, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury defeated the Liberty 80-63. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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The most recent news out of the WNBA is that both Seattle Storm’s head coach Noelle Quinn and New York Liberty’s Sandy Brondello will not have their contracts renewed for the 2026 season. Currently, the WNBA sits with five women head coaches.

Both Quinn and Brondello led their teams to the WNBA Playoffs the past two seasons, with the Liberty winning the 2024 WNBA title.

Losing these two head coaches is part of a larger shift in the WNBA. After last season, seven head coaches were fired, five of them women, and two were Black women. With Seattle’s choice to not renew Quinn’s contract for 2026, the league is now without a single Black woman coach. The only woman of color in the entire league is 2025 Coach of the Year, Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries.

Uneven Gendered Standards

What’s even more interesting about Quinn and Brondello’s dismissal is that first year head coaches Tyler Marsh (Chicago Sky) and Chris Koclanes remain in their positions after mediocre first seasons. Both the Sky and Wings went 10-34 (.277) on the season, the league’s worst records.

It is important to note that both of these coaches were in their first year at the helm and have teams built around young talent where their organizations have stated they are investing and building for the future. However, both coaches were also highly criticized for their coaching performances throughout the year from players, fans, and even media members.

In addition, first year head coaches Rachid Meziane (Connecticut Sun) and Syndney Johnson (Washington Mystics) have also been retained despite the Sun going 11-33 (.250) and the Mystics finishing the year 16-28 (.364).

Why Are There Less Female Coaches In The WNBA?

The recent firings point to a larger issue in the ways women are perceived in leadership positions and the double bind and standards they are held to in those positions.

Research has found that women are required to have additional competencies, achievements, and expertise that is not required of men in the same roles (i.e, Johnson and Nate Tibbetts had never coached women’s basketball before 2024).

Additionally, scholars have found that certain jobs and roles in society are synonymously thought to be associated with men, the term is coined Role Congruity Theory, which includes coaching and sport leadership.

Thus, women many times encounter a double bind in sport coaching leadership roles where despite their achievements, playing experience, and coaching record (i.e., Quinn and Brondello), they are deemed unfit or unacceptable to maintain their positions moving forward, facing harsher and more critical performance evaluations.

Additionally, the Glass Cliff Phenomenon serves to hurt women’s ability to secure and maintain positions of leadership including coaching. According to sport academics, women are hired many times when organizations are in crisis, but yet, if they do not perform and fix the problems quick enough, are let go.

What makes the glass cliff more impactful to women’s career paths is the lack of ability to move on or into the same role in a different organization after they are fired (i.e., Latricia Tramell, 2024 Dallas Wings head coach, Teresa Weatherspoon, 2024 Chicago Sky head coach).

Associate Professor in the University of South Florida’s Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management program, Dr. Janelle Wells explained this further, “Even as women continue to break records for participation, for viewership, for leadership positions, and for sponsorship dollars, the deep history and biases affect how we perceive and view women leaders. Research on the glass cliff and double bind helps explain why WNBA women head coaches continue to get snubbed.”

She continued, “Hire them to clean it up, but yet they weren’t fast enough to fix it or win it all, so it’s time to replace her. Or we need an assertive and decisive head coach, yet she was too aggressive and unlikeable. May we realize this was never a reflection of her competence, but an illustration of the systematic challenges in which women have been set up for failure and then penalized for it.”

Consequently, with Noelle Quinn and Sandy Brondello out at their coaching posts, the league faces a stark reality: women, particularly Black women, are increasingly absent from leadership roles on the court. This shift highlights the ongoing challenges for diversity and representation in professional women’s basketball, underscoring the need for systemic change.

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