WNBA: What explains the Liberty’s slow search for a new head coach

After reports suggested that the New York Liberty’s search for a new head coach had narrowed to three finalists, another candidate has emerged.

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco joins Phoenix Mercury assistant Kristi Toliver, Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahalela and Charlotte Hornets coaching consultant Will Weaver as a known contender for the position, the WNBA’s last, lone vacant head coaching job.

DeMarco’s candidacy was reported by the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney. DeMarco, whose focus has been player development, a known priority for the Liberty, has spent 14 seasons with the Warriors. He also has been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national team since 2019.

After parting ways with former head coach Sandy Brondello, the winningest coach in franchise history who since has been hired as the inaugural head coach of the Toronto Tempo, general manager Jonathan Kolb indicated that the organization would take its time making a new hire, saying, “We need to nails this. If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve to get the best, and so we’ll take the time necessary.“

New York, certainly, seems to be doing their due diligence. However, the extent of their search does open space for speculation. More specifically, speculation that the Liberty’s eventual hire will not be popular with WNBA fans.

Toliver, an accomplished former player who has gained coaching experience on WNBA and NBA sidelines, is widely perceived as the preferred choice of most fans. That would probably be the case even if the other finalists were not men with no experience coaching high-level women’s basketball. But that is the case, which makes the prospect of hiring a man from outside women’s basketball over Toliver an unpopular proposition.

If the Liberty plan to pass over Toliver in favor of DeMarco, Mahalela or Weaver, the Liberty have to be prepared for some blowback. Maybe the organization doesn’t care, believing in their process over a PR win. But, the length of the coaching search makes it plausible that the organization is aware of, and possibly bracing for, potential criticism of their final decision.

Notably, Kolb seemed to recognize the sentiment shared by the majority of fans in Brooklyn and across the WNBA when, asked in the press conference after Brondello’s dismissal about the traits the organization would seek in candidates, he said, “We don’t make decision based on external…with the way the social media landscape is today, I think it would be unfortunate to list qualities.”

Of course, New York can point to the team that knocked them out of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, the Phoenix Mercury, for a defense of their final decision. When the Mercury not only hired Nate Tibbetts, but also rewarded him with the league’s richest contract, the move invoked sharp rebukes and inspired another round of conversations about gender and racial equity in WNBA leadership positions. Yet, after a 2025 season that ended in the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix brass can feel confident in their choice, as winning games tends to silence most critiques.

Kolb and the Liberty appear intent on taking their time to make what they determine is the right decision, regardless of outside opinions. And maybe, after this long process, it will be one of Tibbetts’ assistants in Toliver who, in fact, takes over the New York sideline.