Chicago Sky GM Breaks Silence on Teresa Weatherspoon's Unexpected Firing
The Chicago Sky sent shockwaves about the WNBA when they announced the firing of first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon on September 27.
Hiring Weatherspoon was always a gamble for Chicago, considering that the former WNBA superstar had no professional women's basketball coaching experience before taking the Sky job. And unfortunately, the gamble didn't pay off.
Still, despite the Sky regressing in terms of their overall record and their failure to execute during the fourth quarter of close games down the stretch (which Weatherspoon was heavily criticized by fans for), many wanted Weatherspoon to receive at least one more season to show that she could turn Chicago's fortune around.
What's for sure is that Angel Reese would have wanted Weatherspoon to stick around.
Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca spoke with the media as part of Chicago breaking ground on their new $38 million training facility on Wednesday. Since this was Pagliocca's first public appearance since deciding to fire Weatherspoon, he was asked about what went in to the decision to let her go.
"First, I want to say that I have a lot of respect for Spoon," Pagliocca said, per the Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe. "We're very appreciative of the competitive teams, the resiliency, the spirit that she brought to us every night.
"Look guys, as an organization, we felt it was time to make a change,” Pagliocca added.
Jeff Pagliocca on the decision to fire Teresa Weatherspoon after one year as the Sky’s head coach: “As an organization, we felt it was time to make a change.” pic.twitter.com/OfmdRXvdvv
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) October 9, 2024
He later said that "I don't think that Spoon was difficult to work with. Not at all." And when asked about the Sky's current head coach search, Pagliocca said the front office is looking for, "Structure, discipline and accountability," in a new hire, per Poe.
Jeff Pagliocca on his relationship with former coach Teresa Weatherspoon: "I don't think that Spoon was difficult to work with. Not at all."
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) October 9, 2024
Front office is looking for "structure, discipline and accountability" in a new hire." Said the phone has been "ringing a lot."
Time will tell who Chicago decides to hire as their next head coach.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.