Liberty fire head coach Sandy Brondello one year after WNBA title
New York parts ways with the franchise's winningest coach after a challenging title defense.
The New York Liberty fired head coach Sandy Brondello on Tuesday, ending a four-season run that culminated in last year’s championship. The team announced it would not renew Brondello’s contract, which expired after the season. General manager Jonathan Kolb praised Brondello for her impact, noting she left as the franchise’s winningest coach and the first to guide the Liberty to a title. The decision comes after a season that started with promise but finished short of a defense of the crown.
New York opened the 2025 season with a franchise-best 9-game winning streak, but a midseason slide dropped the Liberty into fifth place by year’s end. They earned the final playoff berth, then were swept in the first round on Sept. 19 in Phoenix. The team’s performance was hampered by injuries to Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, with Stewart also dealing with a knee issue during the playoffs.
Brondello’s leadership and roster-building acumen remained highly regarded around the league, even as rotation questions and in-game decisions drew scrutiny during a disappointing finish to the season. The Liberty had navigated extensive injuries for key players and a roster expected to contend for a deep run, but injuries and inconsistent production limited the team’s ceiling in 2025.
Brondello spoke after the season-ending loss, saying the group was very disappointed but that she was proud of her players for how they fought through adversity. “We faced a lot of adversity this year, which happens in pro sports, but we left it all out there,” she said.
The postgame show of support from players was notable. Breanna Stewart praised Brondello for how she handled the situation and kept the group oriented through injuries, while Natasha Cloud lauded Brondello’s status as one of the league’s most accomplished coaches and said the players had her back.
With Brondello out, the Liberty will search for a new coach in a crowded market. Seattle is among the teams in the mix for a new leader, as is an expansion Portland franchise and Toronto. Early names floated include Liberty assistant Sonia Raman, Fever assistant Brian January and Baylor coach Nikki Collen, though no decisions have been made.
Brondello exits New York with a 107-53 overall record in four seasons. Her timeline with the Liberty began with a 16-20 mark in 2022 that earned a playoff berth, followed by a 32-8 regular season and a Finals appearance in 2023, then another 32-8 season crowned by the franchise’s first title in 2024. The 57-year-old former WNBA player previously led Phoenix to the 2014 championship and remains sixth on the league’s all-time wins list. Her husband, Olaf Lange, is among the Liberty’s assistants and is likely to depart as well. If Brondello wants to continue coaching, she is unlikely to be out of work for long.
The Liberty emphasized that the search for a successor will be deliberate and wide-ranging as they aim to sustain a high-powered roster that has already achieved historic heights in recent seasons.