The New York Liberty will not retain Chris DeMarco after his first season as head coach, according to ESPN, leaving the team facing another coaching change despite reaching the WNBA semifinals. The reported move would send New York into a search for its third coach in three years.
This original staff summary draws on Alexa Philippou’s ESPN report, published November 3, 2026, at 8:03 a.m. ET. Philippou attributed the decision to sources; the article should not be read as an official Liberty announcement.
A season with success and inconsistency
New York’s results were more complicated than a simple early playoff exit. ESPN reports the Liberty finished the regular season 26–18 and claimed the Commissioner’s Cup championship, but entered the playoffs as the eighth and final seed.
They then swept top-seeded Minnesota in the best-of-three opening round before Atlanta swept them 3–0 in the semifinals. That combination matters when evaluating the season: New York showed it could beat a leading contender, but did not sustain that success through the next round. Neither result, by itself, explains the reported coaching decision.
Availability was also part of the picture. Philippou reports that Sabrina Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich missed significant time, while Satou Sabally appeared in only 13 games before being ruled out for the season. Those absences provide context for an uneven year without establishing how much responsibility belonged to the coach.
Another change around an established core
DeMarco arrived after more than a decade on the Golden State Warriors’ staff and experience leading the Bahamas men’s national team since 2019. His first year coaching in the WNBA followed New York’s decision to move on from Sandy Brondello in September 2025, after a first-round elimination a year removed from the franchise’s first league championship.
The latest report therefore describes another short coaching tenure rather than a long-running staff reaching its end. Philippou also reports that DeMarco had expected to return in 2027 when he spoke after New York’s playoff elimination.
The roster offers a different kind of continuity. According to ESPN, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Ionescu are under contract through 2028. A new coach would be taking over a team with an established star core, not a roster whose leading players are all immediately approaching the end of their deals. That makes the next hire consequential, but it does not guarantee a championship or resolve the team’s other personnel questions.
The Seattle comparison is continuity, not a prediction
For Storm followers, New York’s reported reset contrasts with Seattle’s previously reported plan to bring Sonia Raman back in 2027. That coverage centered on general manager Talisa Rhea’s stated roster-improvement priority, not a coaching search.
The two teams are addressing different situations. New York’s move does not establish that Seattle should change course, nor does it identify a coaching candidate for either franchise. Philippou’s cited report names no Liberty successor or hiring deadline. The immediate development is narrower: ESPN says DeMarco will not be retained, and New York faces another decision about who will lead its existing core.
Cover photo is illustrative basketball photography, not a photograph of the reported event.