New York Liberty will not retain coach Chris DeMarco, sources say

The New York Liberty will not retain head coach Chris DeMarco after one season, sources told ESPN.

The reported change follows the Liberty’s first WNBA championship in 2024 and the departure of coach Sandy Brondello in September 2025, after a first-round playoff exit. It would put New York in search of its third coach in three years and give Kolb his fourth head-coach hire as general manager.

A cup title and a semifinal exit

Under DeMarco, New York won the Commissioner’s Cup and finished the regular season 26-18, taking the eighth and final playoff seed. The Liberty swept the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in their best-of-three first-round series, then lost 3-0 to the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream in the semifinals.

Player availability was a problem at times: Sabrina Ionescu and guard Leonie Fiebich missed significant time, while Satou Sabally played only 13 games before being ruled out for the season. ESPN also pointed to DeMarco’s postseason inexperience, citing his failure to use the team’s final reset timeout at the end of overtime in semifinal Game 2 or stop play to clarify whether one remained.

After the elimination, DeMarco said he expected to return in 2027. ESPN said Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones did not give a definitive vote of confidence when asked whether they hoped and expected him to return. Stewart said the team had the players to win a championship but had lacked consistency and needed to be ready from the start of the season.

Another coaching decision

DeMarco joined New York after more than a decade on the Golden State Warriors' staff and had coached the Bahamas men’s national team since 2019. He was a Warriors assistant during their NBA championship wins in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.

Stewart, Ionescu and Jones are under contract through 2028. If DeMarco’s departure is confirmed, the Liberty will need to choose another coach for that core.