The Sky’s window to land Stephanie White was small.
It’s a stretch to even call it a window. It was more of a crack. Still, general manager Jeff Pagliocca gave it his best shot. On Friday, that crack was sealed shut when the Fever made her hire official.
White’s return to the Fever, whom she played for from 2000 to 2004 and coached as an assistant and head coach from 2011 to 2016, had been in the making since the Sun’s season ended. She had another year left on her contract, but that didn’t stop the Fever from making her their top target because she’s widely considered to be the best coach out there.
White is off the market, but six WNBA franchises, including the Sky, are still looking for new coaches. The number goes up to eight if you consider the Toronto and Portland expansion franchises that begin play in 2026. The demand for coaches far exceeds the supply, however, because the WNBA’s coaching pipeline is almost nonexistent.
Some might look at the hiring landscape and think there are plenty of qualified candidates after so many franchises opted to fire their coaches. But not every fired coach warrants immediate consideration for another head-coaching job.
How, then, are teams going to avoid recycling their competitors’ misfires?
The expansion Valkyries’ hire should serve as the blueprint.
Their extensive coaching search resulted in the hiring of former Aces assistant Natalie Nakase, whom many believe the Sky should have gone after in 2023. There are other assistant coaches who will be heavily pursued in this hiring cycle, including Katie Smith of the Lynx and Tyler Marsh, another assistant on Becky Hammon’s Aces staff.
The Sky are targeting Marsh — who has been praised for his player-development skills, specifically his work with three-time MVP A’ja Wilson — after losing out in the sweepstakes for White.
But what kind of a shot do they have of landing him?
To be in the mix for White, the Sky had to be willing to hand out a salary unlike any they’ve offered past coaches. The terms of her contract with the Fever have not been disclosed, but considering Hammon reportedly is making $1 million in Las Vegas and the Mercury are paying Nate Tibbetts $1.2 million, the assumption is that suitors had to be in that ballpark.
The Sky never have handed out a seven-figure salary to a coach, but if they were negotiating with White, then they weren’t far off.
‘‘This franchise has and always will be committed to winning, and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world,’’ White said in a statement.
For the last three years, the Sky have not been committed to winning. It’s a fact reflected by ownership’s inability to keep a coach of James Wade’s caliber happy. To prove they’re a serious franchise, the Sky need to make a serious hire.
Marsh fits that description.
