Less than one year after leading the New York Liberty to the WNBA championship, Sandy Brondello is now out of a job.
The Liberty announced on Tuesday that they have fired their head coach Brondello after four seasons in charge. The release noted that a search for a new head coach will begin “immediately.”
In the wake of the news, many on social media thought back to an awkward moment with Brondello that occurred just four days prior. The Liberty were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury this year, and Brondello gave a press conference immediately after the loss, flanked by New York star players Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu.
During the press conference, a reporter asked Stewart and Ionescu about Brondello’s job status … while Brondello was sitting right there. As a result, Stewart had to offer a cookie-cutter response about the team having Brondello’s back. Here is the video.
Q: "What would you say to those who question whether Sandy should be here next year to coach you guys again?"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 20, 2025
Breanna Stewart: "What the f**…To anybody that questions Sandy…She has our back and we have hers…" pic.twitter.com/2b4lEbZcYf
Brondello, 57, took over for the Liberty in 2022. She went an impressive 271-181 (.600) overall and led the team to both a WNBA Finals berth in 2023 and their first-ever WNBA championship in 2024.
That said, New York struggled to defend their title this season, going 27-17 (only good enough for the WNBA’s No. 5 seed) before their first-round loss to Phoenix. Players like Stewart and Ionescu also experienced slight statistical regressions this season under the leadership of Brondello.
Meanwhile, WNBA head coaches are beginning to have notoriously short shelf lives (with other prominent firings taking place over the last year too). Now Brondello is the league’s latest head coach to be shown the door, just days after her cringeworthy press conference moment.
