Chris DeMarco, New York Liberty’s New Head Coach
The New York Liberty have reached an agreement to hire Chris DeMarco as their new head coach. DeMarco, who served for a long time as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors, will take over the position in the WNBA women’s team. The Liberty executives and DeMarco’s agent, Brian Elfus, finalized the terms of the agreement. DeMarco, who has been with the Warriors since 2012, has held various roles, including assistant coach and player development coach, contributing to the team winning four NBA titles. Since 2019, he has also been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national basketball team. Although DeMarco will be on the Warriors’ bench in the near future, he is expected to join the Liberty at some point this season. The exact schedule is still to be determined. DeMarco was responsible for the Warriors’ defense and worked closely with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole during his time on the team. Among the other candidates considered by the Liberty were Will Weaver, former assistant of the Brooklyn Nets; Kristi Toliver, former WNBA champion and current associate coach of the Phoenix Mercury; and Jama Mahlalela, assistant of the Toronto Raptors. The Liberty are one of the five WNBA teams that have made a head coach appointment this offseason. The contract of predecessor Sandy Brondello expired in September.After winning their first WNBA championship in 2024, New York seemed capable of defending the title with a 9-0 start in 2025, but injuries to stars like Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and others prevented the team from advancing in the postseason. At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb said the franchise was seeking “evolution and innovation” and asked: “How do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a truly sustainable way as the league evolves?” Brondello, who was with the team for four seasons, has said that she believed there was not a good connection between her and the Liberty’s management, and indicated that collaboration was lacking. She was officially hired as the first coach of the Toronto Tempo earlier this month. With most players entering free agency this offseason, awaiting a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. However, Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence” that stars like Stewart, Jones, and the 2020 No. 1 draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu, will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026. Ionescu contacted Warriors star Steph Curry during the recruitment process to ask about DeMarco.“We need to get this right,” said Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb in September, referring to the hiring. “If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve the best, so we’ll take the time necessary.”
Jonathan Kolb
