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Mystics coach Eric Thibault is the fifth WNBA coach to be fired since the season ended last month.
If you coached a bottom-five WNBA team this season, you no longer have a job. The Washington Mystics’ announced that the team was parting ways with General Manager Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault.
“After extensive reflection and conversation, we have decided we are at a point in our competitive and evolutionary cycle to turn the team over to new leadership with a renewed vision to carve our path into the future of WNBA basketball,” stated team President Michael Winger.
“Coach Mike elevated the Mystics program to its proud status as a league leader in innovation, the standard bearer in player care, and a model franchise. He built and coached the Championship team, developed high performing players, and pioneered many of the processes teams use today in building rosters and organizations. His fingerprints are all over this franchise and will be for years to come. We are grateful for Mike’s commitment, passion, and leadership and wish him well. Coach Eric is a skilled coach and equally talented motivator. Our players are fortunate to have played for Eric these past two seasons, as will many other players in this league for decades ahead.”
The firing is the latest in a strong that have taken place since the conclusion of the WNBA season last month. The Los Angeles Sparks announced they were letting Curt Miller go on September 24th, Three days later, Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon was let go, much to the dismay of her star players. On October 2nd, the Atlanta Dream fired Tanisha Wright after three seasons with the organization, and on October 28, the Dallas Wings fired head coach Latricia Trammell after two seasons.
In effect, all of the team’s bottom-five coaches have been released since the season’s end, a notable trend that signals the changing landscape of the WNBA, and team’s desire to compete. The bizarre reality is that many of these teams didn’t fall short of expectations. The Mystics’, for example, finished one game out of a playoff spot despite an injury-riddled season that saw them lack considerable star power. The Sparks and the Sky both weren’t expected to be very competitive this season.
Still, teams are indicating they aren’t afraid of pulling the trigger, and would rather enter the offseason in pursuit of a new head coach. As it currently stands, the coaches that led each of the league’s top seven teams this season are still employed, but, as the firing spree continues, it’s possible that more announcements are on the way.
Teams without head coaches will want to make moves soon; the WNBA draft lottery is coming up on November 17th, and the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft is slated for December 6th.
