Jonathan Kolb Under Pressure As Liberty Search For Third Head Coach In Three Seasons

The New York Liberty fired head coach Chris DeMarco after one season.

The move was made official Tuesday, November 3.

DeMarco joined the Liberty in December 2025.

He spent fourteen seasons as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.

He helped Golden State win four NBA championships.

He had no previous experience coaching in the WNBA.

His first season produced a 26-18 regular-season record.

That left the Liberty eighth in the league standings entering the postseason.

Despite that position, New York stunned the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round.

The Liberty became the first eighth seed to eliminate a number one seed in WNBA history.

That upset raised expectations.

The Atlanta Dream ended those hopes quickly with a three-game semifinal sweep.

Atlanta swept New York in three games.

The sweep exposed problems that troubled the team throughout the injury-disrupted regular season.

One costly moment came during Game Two.

The Liberty failed to recognize they still had a reset timeout available.

That confusion proved significant during overtime.

Breanna Stewart attempted a difficult shot instead of using the remaining timeout late in the game.

DeMarco faced criticism after that moment.

New York also struggled with injuries throughout the season.

Satou Sabally suffered a concussion that limited the forward to just thirteen appearances during 2026.

Sabrina Ionescu missed several games.

Changing lineups made it difficult for DeMarco to establish consistent combinations.

Stewart, Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones avoided giving firm public support for DeMarco after the team's playoff elimination.

Stewart described the season as inconsistent.

She stressed that championship contenders must maintain strong performances throughout the entire regular season.

DeMarco's departure means general manager Jonathan Kolb must now find another leader.

This is the third head coach search in three seasons for the franchise.

The Liberty previously chose not to retain Sandy Brondello.

Brondello had led the team to the WNBA Finals in 2023 and 2024.

She posted a 72-36 regular-season record over three seasons.

Kolb decided to move in a different direction after the 2024 season.

That decision drew criticism from ESPN personalities.

ESPN legend Linda Cohn called the firing of Brondello a major mistake.

Cohn said the Liberty made a big, big mistake letting Brondello go.

Now, with DeMarco gone after one season, the criticism has intensified.

Cohn has floated a familiar name as a potential replacement.

She suggested Teresa Weatherspoon for the Liberty head coaching job.

Weatherspoon played seven seasons with the Liberty.

She earned five All-Star selections.

She won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year twice.

She helped guide New York to the WNBA Finals four times.

She made one of the most iconic shots in league history during the 1999 Finals.

She hit a half-court game-winner in Game 2 against the Houston Comets.

Weatherspoon has coaching experience in the WNBA, NBA, and college basketball.

She spent six seasons leading Louisiana Tech, compiling a 99-71 record.

She guided the Lady Techsters to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011.

She won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship in 2010.

Weatherspoon previously worked in player development for the Liberty.

She joined the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019.

She initially worked with the team's two-way players.

She later served as an NBA assistant coach.

She returned to the WNBA as head coach of the Chicago Sky in 2024.

Chicago finished 13-27 and missed the playoffs.

She was fired after one season.

The decision to fire Weatherspoon drew criticism from Angel Reese.

Reese had played her rookie season under Weatherspoon.

Cohn argued that Weatherspoon belongs in the conversation for the Liberty job.

Cohn said Weatherspoon would bring big-time fan attention to the franchise.

She called Weatherspoon a franchise icon with the Liberty.

The New York Post also weighed in on the coaching situation.

The Post published an article titled There's an important lesson for Liberty to learn from Chris DeMarco's quick flameout.

The article noted that the Liberty are in the same position they were a year ago.

They are in need of a head coach.

The search to replace DeMarco is already underway.

But the article pointed to a lesson from Kolb's last hiring process.

Kolb hired DeMarco after deciding not to retain Brondello.

That decision now looks questionable after one season.

The Liberty have won the Commissioner's Cup under DeMarco.

DeMarco helped the team win that title during his single season.

New York also upset the Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the playoffs.

But the semifinal loss to Atlanta ended the season on a sour note.

The coaching turnover creates instability for a team with championship aspirations.

Stewart, Ionescu, and Jones form a core that expects to contend for titles.