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Liberty Will Not Retain Chris DeMarco After One Season as Head Coach
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- Liberty Will Not Retain Chris DeMarco After One Season as Head Coach
(Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
The New York Liberty will not retain head coach Chris DeMarco after one season, sources told ESPN's Alexa Philippou on Tuesday morning.
DeMarco's only season ended Oct. 9 at Barclays Center, where the Atlanta Dream beat New York 85-83 to finish a three-game sweep in the WNBA semifinals. The Liberty had gone 26-18 in the regular season and entered the playoffs as the No. 8 and final seed.
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The next hire will be New York's third head coach in three years. It will also be the fourth head coach hire under general manager Jonathan Kolb, according to ESPN.
Liberty Swept the Lynx Before Falling to the Dream
Through 25 games, New York was 13-12. The Liberty went 13-6 the rest of the way.
Sabrina Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich both missed significant time. Satou Sabally appeared in 13 games before she was ruled out for the season, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton fell out of the rotation and was waived four days after the trade deadline.
Breanna Stewart played in 42 of the 44 regular-season games. On June 30, she was named MVP of the Commissioner's Cup championship after New York beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 at Barclays Center. The Liberty became the first team to win the in-season tournament twice. Their first came in 2023.
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In the best-of-three first round, New York swept the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx. Atlanta, the No. 4 seed, then took Game 1 of the semifinals 92-82 at State Farm Arena.
Game 2 went to overtime on Oct. 7, and the Dream won 101-98. Stewart's 32-foot 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left missed. Afterward, Stewart said officials had told the Liberty they had no reset timeout left before New York's final possession.
DeMarco said there were plenty of calls the Liberty felt could have gone their way.
"They told us we didn't have it," DeMarco said. "Multiple staff members said that. We've got to demand more, but it is what it is."
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Two days later, the Dream closed out the series in Brooklyn, and Stewart walked through New York's final drive after the loss. Atlanta reached its first WNBA Finals since 2013 and lost Game 7 to the Golden State Valkyries 68-63 .
Liberty Stars Called DeMarco's Future 'Not Our Decision'
After Game 3, DeMarco said he expected to return in 2027. Stewart, Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones did not offer a definitive vote of confidence when they were asked whether they hoped and expected he would be back.
DeMarco planned to take time to assess the season first.
"Not just myself — staff, players, everything," DeMarco explained. "The great part about what I do is that you're constantly learning, and there's new things you learn every single day, every season."
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Stewart believed "1,000%" that New York had the personnel to win a championship this season.
"Of course, we want to win a championship every single time we step on the court," Stewart said, "but it's really hard in this league, and in order to do that, you need to be consistent for the full 44 games. And I don't think we were consistent throughout the season. I think that we started to show some life and peak a little bit in towards the end and in the playoffs. But this is not like cramming for a test. You got to be ready and ready to go since the jump."
Ionescu said DeMarco's future was "not our decision," and Stewart and Jones said the same.
"We're thankful for everything that he's done this year," Ionescu said. "Just focusing on the now, the way he's poured into us and stayed positive, level-headed through the ups and downs of this season as well that didn't go the way that he wanted either."
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"I don't know what's going to happen," Ionescu continued. "Regardless, thankful for him coaching us this year and obviously giving us a chance. And we just fell short."
Fiebich said the Liberty won the 2024 title because they brought toughness, talent, and team chemistry, and that they have to find ways to get that back.
"I think they're great people," Fiebich said of the staff. "I think it was their first time in the WNBA. Maybe you could feel it here and there in some situations, but I think the most important thing was that we were out there as a group. It was a collaborative thing, and that was most important."
Liberty Begin Third Head Coach Search in Three Years
DeMarco was hired in December 2025. He had spent more than a decade as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, who won NBA titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022 during that stretch. He has also coached the Bahamas men's national team since 2019.
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New York moved on from Sandy Brondello in September 2025 after a first-round exit, one year after she coached the franchise to its first WNBA championship in 2024. Brondello went 107-53 in four regular seasons with the Liberty. On Nov. 4, 2025, the Toronto Tempo named her the expansion franchise's first head coach.
Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu are all under contract for two more seasons.
The Liberty's job is the second current head coaching vacancy in the league this offseason. The Los Angeles Sparks are also searching after moving on from Lynne Roberts.
