Report Suggests Sky Pursue Other Head Coaches With Stephanie White in Play for Fever
The Chicago Sky announcing their firing of first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon at the end of their 2024 WNBA regular season had fans and players in a state of collective shock.
In the days and weeks following that massive decision, reports suggested that Los Angeles Sparks coach Curt Miller was a lead candidate for Sky's head coach job — which Chicago fans didn't seem overly excited about.
It was later reported by Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Sky were in talks with Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White, who could be made available this offseason.
However, the Sky wouldn't be alone in trying to acquire White. Also in play would be the Indiana Fever — who fired head coach Christie Sides on Sunday morning. This presents a problem for Chicago; not only because of White's history with Indiana, but because of several other advantages that Costabile listed in an October 26 article.
"According to league sources White — who is under contract with the Sun through 2025 — is in talks with her current employer, the Sky and the Fever. The latter offers her what the former two can’t," Costabile wrote.
"With the Fever... White would have proximity to family, a world-class organization and an opportunity to coach Caitlin Clark, whose rookie season painted the clear picture that she will one day soon be the best player in the league.
"I’m not saying the Sky won’t land White. I’m merely pointing that [Chicago Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca] would be remiss not to already have a backup plan in place," Costabile added.
The Sky and GM Jeff Pagliocca need to be ready to implement their Plan B when it comes to their coaching search. https://t.co/QpgpKg7iEo
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) October 27, 2024
Sides getting fired on Sunday suggests the Fever are feeling good about the chances of them acquiring White. If they do, the Sky must pivot toward finding another high-level 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.