It’s been about a week now since the New York Liberty, right after their elimination from the 2025 WNBA season, cut ties with head coach Sandy Brondello. Though Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb did not initially highlight his thought process, he later explained the reason by stating that “Ultimately we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time.” Now, a New York Post reporter believes that, to get to that evolutionary point, the GM and the Liberty front office are willing to take some drastic steps.

Madeline Kenney, along with her New York Post co-worker Dexter Henry, recently hosted another episode of the ‘Liberty Lately’ podcast. There, Henry highlighted that Jonathan Kolb is being transparent about what the future could hold for the Liberty. However, on a personal level, he wished to enquire whether the recent firing of Sandy Brondello and any other future changes highlight an urgency from the team’s side to maximize their championship window.

To that, Kenney couldn’t help but answer, “I mean, if there’s anything that we’ve learned about the Kolb and the front office, since he’s taken over, is that they’re very bullish and very aggressive. They’re going to constantly be making moves to put the Liberty in the best position possible to be contending for championships.”

The NY Post reporter further added, “They don’t want to just win the one that they had in 2024. They want more, and they’ve always been very clear about that messaging that they want championships plural, not just one.”

If Jonathan Kolb really is looking to maximize his team’s championship window, then firing Brondello was a risk he had to undertake. She indeed helped the New York Liberty win the championship title last year. However, if the 2025 season proved anything, it was that she was creating some lapses on certain levels. Even WNBA on NBC hosts Natalie Esquire and Owen Pence recently discussed Sandy Brondello. While Pence called her “a phenomenal human being”, he also added that:

“I think that maybe the sentiment is that when Sandy Brondello would run up against a Cheryl Reeve, or a Becky Hammon, or even Nate Tibbetts in the first round this year, she might have been at a little bit of a disadvantage. Perhaps she was getting outcoached. And I think if you’re the front office and you see this Liberty roster, which still has a title window very, very open, you simply have to choose a coach who is going to give you the best chance to win moving forward”.

According to reports, people began drawing a perception that the Liberty often relied on their star players, like Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones, to create offense on their own. For the playoffs, Brondello reportedly refused to trust the bench the front office had built in the offseason.

In light of this, it was felt that injuries explained the team’s inconsistencies by only a small bit. Furthermore, repeated breakdowns in after-timeout plays and ineffective halftime adjustments indicated that Brondello was frequently outmaneuvered by opposing coaches.

“This team was not rebounding particularly well early on. They were having trouble at the free-throw line. We saw some players missing easy shots and baskets. To me, that pointed to a lot of fatigue,” said WNBA reporter Erica Ayala. “Now, while none of those things are quite literally in the final control of the coach, we do know that those are things that can get a coach dismissed, and that seems to be the case here with New York”.

As Jonathan Kolb described, Sandy Brondello’s firing was a “fork-in-the-road” moment. A moment from which the New York Liberty squad can still move forward under a new set of determination and a new head coach.

Who will replace Sandy Brondello as head coach?

According to sources, the Liberty is interested in a candidate with NBA experience! In fact, Kolb acknowledged that Brondello’s successor doesn’t need to have prior WNBA experience, and added that “I don’t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate. We want to have a really diverse pool of candidates to speak with.” This opens up doors, but for a different set of candidates.

One of the top candidates that was earlier being highlighted for the role was Indiana Fever assistant coach Briann January. While she does not have a ton of NBA experience, she did work with the Detroit Pistons’ organization over the offseason as an assistant coach for the Motor City Cruise, aka the franchise’s G League affiliate.

Additionally, January also spent time as an assistant at her alma mater, Arizona State, during the 2017-18 season. She boasts over 13 years of experience as a player (2009-2022) and 8 years as an assistant coach (2017-present).

Another name that could potentially be considered for the HC role is that of Lindsey Harding. The 41-year-old was brought back in 2024 to join JJ Redick’s Los Angeles Lakers coaching team. Before that, she served as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings for one season, and then as the head coach for its G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, for the next season. Harding was named the G League Coach of the Year for her sole season with the team.

As the search continues, it will be interesting to see the candidate that Jonathan Kolb brings in to strike fear into the hearts of the other 12 NBA teams’ GMs.