ESPN
Sep 21, 2025, 03:58 PM ET
Three days after being eliminated in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, the Seattle Storm parted ways with coach Noelle Quinn.
With the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joining next season as expansion teams, there are now three coaching openings in the league for the 2026 season.
Last offseason, the league saw a record seven coaching changes -- not including the Golden State Valkyries hiring for their inaugural season.
ESPN will track all the coaching hirings and firings, and provide analysis, as they happen.
Seattle Storm
Former coach: Noelle Quinn (Sept. 21)
Analysis: Only the Minnesota Lynx's Cheryl Reeve had longer tenure in a WNBA head coaching job than Quinn, who took over early in the 2021 season after Dan Hughes announced his immediate retirement. Quinn led the Storm to the inaugural Commissioner's Cup title and four playoff appearances in five seasons, but Seattle fell short of expectations after adding Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Per league sources and first reported by the Seattle Times, Jewell Loyd asked the Storm to fire Quinn after the team's 2024 first-round sweep against Las Vegas. Diggins and Ogwumike supported Quinn keeping her job. After an investigation in response to Loyd's allegations of bullying and harassment found no violations by the coaching staff, Loyd was traded to the Las Vegas Aces, who eliminated Seattle in a hard-fought three-game series in this year's first round of the playoffs.
Presuming the core of Diggins, Ogwumike and Gabby Williams returns in free agency, the biggest challenge for Quinn's replacement will be improving the team's half-court offense. The Storm ranked 10th in points per possession outside of transition, per GeniusIQ tracking. In addition to a strong organization and facilities, Seattle can sell candidates on the promise of coaching No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga, who ranked fourth on ESPN's ranking of under-25 talent as a 19-year-old rookie. -- Kevin Pelton
