Collage featuring BASKETBALL-WNBA-PHO-TOR/ and BASKETBALL-WNBA-ATL-NYL/. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Ash Anjum · Pro Football Network Wed, November 4, 2026 at 8:21 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Liberty are searching for their third head coach in three seasons after firing Chris DeMarco on Tuesday, a year after general manager Jonathan Kolb replaced Sandy Brondello with DeMarco who had no previous WNBA coaching experience.
Brondello won the franchise's first championship in 2024 and was let go the following season. DeMarco's appointment was supposed to represent a new direction for New York, but his one-year tenure has brought Kolb's decision-making under renewed scrutiny.
Former ESPN analyst Linda Cohn addressed the situation on Wednesday, calling out the Liberty's general manager over the coaching changes.
Brondello's departure was a significant decision for the Liberty. She compiled a 107-53 regular season record over four seasons in New York, led the team to back-to-back Finals appearances and delivered its first championship in 2024.
However, Kolb chose not to renew her contract for 2026 after their early playoff exit, citing the need for evolution and innovation. DeMarco was brought in to lead that transition.
"Very serious thought and consideration was made to retaining Sandy (Brondello), but ultimately we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time," the Liberty GM said at the time.
During a segment on "The Linda Cohn Show," Cohn pointed to the general manager's previous emphasis on innovation and keeping pace with the changing league, noting that his next coaching hire did not even last two seasons.
"Funny how Kolb, the GM, said, 'We were looking forward. It wasn't about the playoff loss. We wanted innovation. We wanted to keep pace with a changing league.' So the guy he hired lasted exactly one year: Chris DeMarco," Cohn said.
With another coaching search underway, she questioned why Kolb himself had not faced similar scrutiny for the direction he had taken the franchise:
"And people might be saying, people that are Liberty fans, saying, 'Well, why does the GM still have his job? He keeps changing coaches. You decided this guy was the way to go to replace Sandy Brondello.'"
"That was a big, big, big mistake. Big mistake, for sure," the former ESPN personality noted.
DeMarco guided New York to a 26-18 record and the Commissioner's Cup title, with the Liberty also sweeping the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the playoffs.
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However, a costly timeout misunderstanding between officials and the Liberty during overtime in Game 2 of the semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream drew criticism after New York failed to use a remaining timeout in a 101-98 loss.
The Liberty were subsequently swept 3-0, and despite DeMarco publicly expressing his expectation to return for the 2027 season, the franchise dismissed him on November 3.
As for Brondello, she signed with the Toronto Tempo on November 4, 2025. Under her, the team finished their inaugural season with an 11-33 record, placing sixth in the Eastern Conference.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
Source: Sports
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