The Liberty ... Fire Sandy Brondello?

Trying to make sense of the latest out of New York.

I don't check my notifications. I have them turned off for every social media site, and outside of a handful of text threads, I don't get notified for anything.

But then someone will see my home screen on a screenshot and say DELETE YOUR EMAILS AND READ YOUR TEXT MESSAGES YOU PSYCHO.

Chill, bro.

Once per year, I will delete the emails in my inbox, but I love having receipts.

And I am So. God. Damn. Mad. that I cleaned out my inbox a few weeks ago.

Why?

Well, there was an accidental email that was sent by the Atlanta Dream's marketing team earlier this season, and I really wanted to reference it here. You know, the receipt. But I believe that it was about the Dream advancing to the Commissioner's Cup final even though it lost.

But that happens. As a comm's professional and marketer, mistakes happen.

That's why it took me a good minute to realize that the email I received this morning was not a mistake, but on purpose.

This is an utter shock. Days after Noelle Quinn (understandably) was fired from the Seattle Storm, the New York Liberty announced that they won't be bringing back Brondello.

Sandy Brondello. The legendary coach. The coach who took over this team four years ago and brought New York – one of the original WNBA franchises – its first WNBA championship last year.

Sandy Brondello. The coach that, by all accounts, was widely loved by the players and within the league.

Sandy Brondello. The coach that had Breanna Stewart say "what the fuck?" to a reporter's question asking about Brondello returning next year after the Liberty's first-round playoff exit.

Reporter asks Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart if their coach should be fired… in front of their coach

[image or embed]— MrBuckBuck (@mrbuckbucknba.bsky.social) September 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM

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We laughed about it. Hell, Stewie laughed about it and Sabrina's expression spoke volumes. Even Sandy laughed about it.

Right now, we are all Stewie with her reaction.

But it's a reality.

It's a harsh reality for the WNBA – especially for women – where the league is truly about "what have you done for me lately?"

Becky Hammon, the architect of the Las Vegas Aces' dynasty, had her job status being discussed during the middle of the year after the Aces slow start.

And if you don't think it would be possible for her to lose her job had the Aces not gone on a historic winning streak, look no further than Brondello as Exhibit A.

The bar is set in New York as far as expectations after winning a title last year. And yes, despite starting the season 9-1, looking like a rematch with the Lynx would be inevitable in the WNBA Finals, the Liberty fell apart.

Literally.

Jonquel Jones missed time. Breanna Stewart missed time. Leonie Fiebich missed time. Nyara Sabally missed time. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed the entire season.

But do you know who else missed time?

Caitlin Clark. S*phie C*nningham. Sydney Colson. Aari McDonald.

And yet, the Fever are in the WNBA semifinals.

Injuries are a part of every team, and the Liberty were unable to course correct, even with bringing in Emma Meesseman.

But is that, in itself, enough to be fired over? No, it isn't.

Especially for a coach that has the track record that Brondello has and again just won the championship last year.

If that was enough to get a coach fired, Karl Smesko would be fired after losing in the first round as the No. 3 seed. Tyler Marsh and Chris Koclanes would be fired from Chicago and Dallas, respectively, after terrible first seasons at the helm.

But they aren't, and they shouldn't be. Marsh and Koclanes had people calling for their jobs, but it was never going to happen. Ever. At least not this year.

But the same should hold true for Sandy.

During an anonymous poll in May of WNBA general managers, Sandy Brondello ranked fourth in the league as manager of people and third for in-game adjustments.

Having her behind Reeve and Hammon makes sense. Same with Stephanie White. Hell, I'll hear the argument about having her behind Natalie Nakase, if you want. But Brondello is no worse than the fifth-best head coach in the league, and I would have her No. 3 on my list.

Could Sandy have wanted out? Potentially, though unlikely. She seemed to like New York, and I haven't heard anything saying that she wanted to leave. But I'm also not in tune with that market, so I may be missing something.

But there are several openings now in the WNBA. I advocated for Seattle to hire Kristi Toliver or Nola Henry as head coach, but a new name has surfaced.

There's also Toronto and Portland, who need coaches, and people on Bluesky were already clamoring for them to go after Sandy.

The only question I have for New York now isn't why, but who?

Who is out there that you are going to hire to replace Brondello?

It's like when fans of a hockey team want to replace their starting goalie or want the starting quarterback to be replaced.

It's great in practice, but who are you replacing them with?

When there are 123 players who are set to be free agents, you better make damn sure that you get the hire right.

Whether it's Teresa Weatherspoon in hopes of luring Angel Reese to New York, promoting Sonia Raman internally, or someone else. New York can't afford to mess this up.