With two WNBA head coaching positions opening up last week, the offseason discussion has shifted to who might be next in line for the top jobs.

In two surprising moves last Monday, the New York Liberty moved on from coach Walt Hopkins and the Phoenix Mercury parted ways with Sandy Brondello. I would expect the teams to fill these vacancies quickly with free agency approaching in early 2022. Between current franchise openings and the jobs that league expansion would create, there are quite a few names worthy of consideration and discussion.

While the impending retirements of several WNBA stars has led to some imaginative picks (think: Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi), I focused this list on individuals who have substantial coaching experience at various levels and have a strong case for a head coaching job now and into the future.

Sandy Brondello

The Mercury did not renew Brondello’s contract, which expired after their run to the 2021 WNBA Finals. Now, it is hard to imagine the experienced Brondello not being at the top of the Liberty’s candidate pool. Under her guidance, the Mercury won their third WNBA championship in 2014 and compiled a 150-108 record over eight seasons. Brondello has coached in the league since 2005, making stops in San Antonio and Los Angeles before taking over in Phoenix, and has been the head coach of the Australian women’s national team since 2017.

Given her international ties and ability to develop young players, I could see the Liberty taking an immediate interest in the 53-year-old. If not New York, potential expansion teams could come calling in the near future.

Eric Thibault

For those following the WNBA, Eric Thibault’s name on this list should come as no surprise. Thibault has been in numerous conversations for head coaching vacancies over the last three years, including those for the Liberty and Dallas Wings. The young coach has assisted his father, Mike Thibault, with the Washington Mystics for the past nine years.

The most obvious scenario would be for Eric to take over as Mystics head coach when his father retires, but an outside team could very well take a gamble on him sooner. Eric has the experience of a WNBA championship run and a great reputation among his peers; it’s just a matter of time before we see him in the head coach’s chair.

Teresa Weatherspoon

Weatherspoon is likely one of the most sought-after candidates among WNBA teams. For her, it’s a matter of which direction she wants to take her career at this point. A legend in the women’s game, Weatherspoon has served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans since 2020. Prior to her time in the NBA, she coached at Louisiana Tech, the same program she historically led to a national championship as a player in 1988.

Weatherspoon has 10 years of coaching experience, including five as a head coach. Her reputation as one of the greatest to ever play in the WNBA precedes her, and her ability to relate to players would be a great fit for the Liberty’s young and talented roster or the Mercury’s veteran team that’s approaching the post-Diana Taurasi era.

Olaf Lange

Lange has been with the Chicago Sky since 2019, and after the Sky’s run to the 2021 championship, it wouldn’t be surprising for teams to consider him for head coaching positions. Known as a players’ coach, Lange has nearly 30 years of experience behind the bench, including internationally with the German and Australian national teams and UMMC Ekaterinburg. He led the European powerhouse to five-straight Russian championships and two EuroLeague championships.

Lange is also married to Brondello, the former Mercury coach. Could we see the power couple on the same bench in the near future? It has happened before, when Lange launched his WNBA career as associate head coach to Brondello in 2007. The two have also worked together on the coaching staff of the Australian national team.

Pokey Chatman

The former Sky and Indiana Fever head coach has been patiently biding her time since her departure from the Fever in 2019. Chatman has extensive experience, from the college game at LSU to international play with Spartak Moscow, having led the club to their fourth straight EuroLeague championship in 2010.

As Sky head coach from 2010-16, Chatman led the franchise to its first WNBA Finals appearance in 2014. Chatman’s fingerprint remains on the Sky organization, most notably drafting Courtney Vandersloot and seeing the potential in Allie Quigley. Though Chatman’s time in Indiana was short-lived and underwhelming, the former coach and GM has a proven ability to identify talent, manage players and lead teams to deep playoff runs when in the right situation. She should be one of the top candidates for any WNBA openings in the near future.

Latricia Trammell

Trammell’s reputation has positioned her as one of the most sought-after assistants in the WNBA. Her impressive resume includes over 30 years of coaching experience and two national championships at the NAIA level.

Trammell has spent the last three seasons as an assistant under Los Angeles Sparks head coach Derek Fisher. Her defensive-minded approach is an asset in the competitive WNBA. The Sparks have finished in the top three in defensive rating every year she has been with the team. Under Trammell, Candace Parker won Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, Brittney Sykes was named First and Second Team All-Defense in 2019 and 2021 and Nneka Ogwumike was First Team All-Defense in 2019.

Katie Smith

Following her impressive playing career in the WNBA, which included seven All-Star nods and two championships, Smith began her coaching career in 2014 as an assistant under Bill Laimbeer in New York. Smith took over as the Liberty’s head coach for two seasons after Laimbeer left for Las Vegas. After the Liberty went 17-51 from 2018-19, the organization did not renew her contract and Smith joined the Minnesota Lynx staff as an assistant coach.

With Smith on Cheryl Reeve’s staff, the Lynx have compiled a 36-18 regular season record over the past two seasons and finished fourth in the league standings in 2020 and third in 2021. Smith’s head coaching experience was short-lived, with minimal support at the time, but I fully expect a team to give her another shot soon.

Chasity Melvin

Melvin just wrapped up her second season as an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Mercury. After a twelve-year playing career, her trajectory fits the model of former players transitioning into assistants and, eventually, head coaching roles.

Before making the jump into WNBA coaching, Melvin was a 2018 graduate of the NBA’s Player Development Assistant Coaches Program. The Charlotte Hornets then hired her as an assistant for their G-league team, the Greensboro Swarm, making her the organization’s first female coach. After playing a key role in the Mercury’s run to the WNBA Finals this past season, Melvin was named head coach of Mexican club Correcaminos for the 2022 United Cup of Champions. She is a prime candidate for a future head coaching job if she continues down this path.

Vanessa Nygaard

With a growing coaching resume that includes stops at nearly every level of the game, Nygaard is building a convincing case for a lead WNBA position. After a standout playing career at Stanford, Nygaard was drafted by the Liberty in 1998 and began a six-year WNBA career. As an assistant, she’s coached at Cal State Long Beach and Pepperdine before serving on the staffs of the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Mystics. In 2020, she was named Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year after leading the Windward School (Los Angeles) girls basketball program to a 27-6 record that season. Nygaard has also coached for USA Basketball, serving as an assistant on the U17 team that went undefeated and won a gold medal at the 2018 FIBA World Cup.

Currently, the Scottsdale, Ariz. native is an assistant on Laimbeer’s staff with the Aces. In a couple of more years, I think there’s a strong chance we see Nygaard as a WNBA head coach.

Brandi Poole

Between her time in college and the WNBA, Poole has 23 years of assistant coaching experience. She has spent most of those seasons with Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller, from 11 seasons at Bowling Green to two at Indiana and the past four with the Sun.

Poole’s experience is one thing, but the time she’s spent learning from one of the best coaches in the women’s game sets her apart. Her ability to scout talent, develop young players and build relationships across multiple staffs has primed Poole for her own opportunity if she wishes to go in that direction.

Stephanie White

A team looking for a seasoned veteran to lead their coaching staff would be hard-pressed not to consider White, who has an extensive coaching record between college and the pros. White spent six years playing in the WNBA before launching an 18-year coaching career as an assistant for three college programs and then for the Sky and Fever. She helped guide the Fever to their first WNBA championship in 2012 and took the helm after Lin Dunn retired.

White left the Fever in 2016 for the head coaching position at Vanderbilt, where she was unable to find much traction in five seasons. After parting ways with the program in April, White has served as a college basketball analyst. But with her deep coaching roots and 10 years of WNBA experience, we might not have to wait long to see her back behind the bench.

Crystal Robinson

Robinson has been a part of the WNBA since its inception and holds over 10 years of coaching experience at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most recently on Brian Agler’s Wings staff from 2019-20. Following her nine-year ABL/WNBA playing career, Robinson was an assistant with the Mystics before guiding McAlester High School to a state championship in Oklahoma. She’s also served as a collegiate assistant at Utah State and TCU and as a head coach at Murray State Community College.

Given Robinson’s coaching resume, the chances seem high that she returns to the league in some capacity. If she could get in as an assistant and produce a few consistent seasons, she certainly has the credentials to be a future head coach.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

The AP Women's College Basketball Poll turns 50 next year, and the publication began celebrating its rankings run a few months early by asking 13 former players and AP sportswriters to fill an All-Time team roster with the NCAA's best.

First Team honors went to USC legend Cheryl Miller, UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, all-time leading NCAA scorer and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, and position-defining Tennessee forward Candace Parker.

Standout Huskies Sue Bird and Maya Moore also snagged AP All-Time nods, earning Second Team spots alongside Virginia star guard Dawn Staley, Tennessee forward and three-time national champion Chamique Holdsclaw, and three-time AIAW champion and MVP Lusia Harris from Delta State.

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Even the AP list's reserves are full of legends, with basketball pioneers like Kansas star Lynette Woodard and UCLA's Ann Meyers Drysdale joining Lisa Leslie (USC) and Sheryl Swoopes (Texas Tech) as well as current WNBA superstars A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Brittney Griner (Baylor) on the All-Time bench.

"Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports," Clark said in response to her AP All-Time First Team nod. "It's fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together."

"What an accomplishment and what an honor," said fellow First Team honoree Taurasi. "There's so many great women who paved the way."

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline looming, ESPN recently conducted an anonymous survey of team owners, executives, players, and other insiders about the simmering tensions between athletes and league leadership in the wake of Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's viral exit interview last month.

"Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players, it's a death spiral," a team executive told ESPN after fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert at this year's WNBA Finals.

"Change is a must," another exec said in the anonymous WNBA survey. "Either Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role."

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That said, not everyone agreed, with one owner saying, "If you fire her now, it's admitting weakness. It's a terrible look for the league. I can't stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire [Engelbert] — even though I think she should be."

CBA negotiations have also remained frosty this month, with Las Vegas Aces star guard Chelsea Gray telling ESPN that the talks are "not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It's market share, it's salaries, it's player safety, it's everything."

With the parties still reportedly far from a deal, the threat of a work stoppage next season hangs over the stalled proceedings.

"I don't think it's going to be done by Halloween," a league source told ESPN. "[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn't benefit anybody."

Just one ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs remains unpunched after four different clubs clinched postseason berths over the weekend.

The No. 4 Seattle Reign clinched with a 2-1 win over the No. 12 Utah Royals on Friday before the No. 5 San Diego Wave emphatically slammed the door with a 6-1 Saturday drubbing of the No. 14 Chicago Stars, while the No. 6 Portland Thorns joined the postseason party with a 2-0 Sunday win over No. 11 Angel City.

As for No. 7 Gotham FC, a tense 2-2 draw with No. 8 Louisville propelled the Bats to their third consecutive postseason appearance on Sunday, leaving Racing still poised to earn a club-first playoff spot with a post-international break win.

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The newly clinched quartet will join the previously postseason-bound No. 1 Kansas City Current, No. 2 Washington Spirit, and No. 3 Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

Only one team — No. 9 North Carolina — can challenge Louisville for the eighth and final berth, as weekend results saw both the No. 10 Houston Dash and No. 11 Angel City eliminated while the Courage took down No. 13 Bay FC 4-1 on Friday to remain in contention.

In order to snag that eighth spot, however, North Carolina will need a 2025 Decision Day win over Gotham — plus a Louisville loss or draw against Bay FC.

"The reality is, we are still in control of our destiny with one game to go," Racing captain Janine Sonis said on Sunday. "[It's] not like us to not to keep things interesting."

With one postseason spot and the majority of the 2025 Playoffs seeding still up for grabs, the NWSL is gearing up for yet another game-changing Decision Day on November 2nd.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current hit an unexpected skid on Saturday, when the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the No. 10 Houston Dash — and lost their star striker, Temwa Chawinga, to injury along the way.

Despite leading the match in shots, shots on goal, and possession, the defeat snapped the Current's 17-game unbeaten streak, leaving the club one result short of setting a new franchise record.

"Sometimes things like this will happen," Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "You're going to dominate, you're going to do everything well, but you're not going to score a goal…. I'm glad it happened now and not two games from now."

The loss stings, but with the top postseason berth already secured, Kansas City's concern turns to their 2024 MVP after Chawinga exited the match with a non-contact injury.

A knock to the upper right leg saw the Malawi international wheeled off the pitch in the 29th minute, with Andonovski later clarifying that it was not a knee injury.

Considered a frontrunner to repeat as both NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, the 27-year-old leads the league in scoring this season with 15 goals over 23 appearances.

While Kansas City is still awaiting a specific diagnosis for their star striker, time could be on the Current's side, as this week's international break gives Chawinga a moment to rest before her club closes out their 2025 NWSL regular season — and, more importantly, takes aim at a championship run.

How to watch the next Kansas City Current match

The league-leading Current will be back in action on NWSL Decision Day, with Kansas City closing out their 2025 regular-season campaign by hosting the No. 5 San Diego Wave on Sunday, November 2nd.

The time and broadcast details for the 2025 season's Decision Day will drop at a later date at NWSLSoccer.com.