New York Liberty Fire Coach Chris Demarco After Just One Season

By Michael Gonik

It appears Chris DeMarco is one and done as New York Liberty head coach. The Libs have reportedly fired DeMarco after a single season, according to ESPN.

DeMarco arrived in New York after 13 seasons as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors, replacing coach Sandy Brondello, who led the team to a WNBA Finals title in 2024, but barely put a dent in the post-season the following year, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Mercury. DeMarco’s Libs went one deeper in 2025, sweeping the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx in the opening round, but were evidently overwhelmed by the Atlanta Dream in the semis, losing momentum after a devastating Game 2 loss, which went to overtime, and arguably could have been prevented if DeMarco had not failed to take advantage of (or even acknowledge) their reset timeout late in the game. And it may have cost him his job.

The lines have been quiet since the news broke this morning, with no statements or comments from DeMarco or the players. But it’s his (former) team’s silence that may be the most telling of sentiments around his firing. “What I’m thinking about right now is just the missed opportunity,” star forward Breanna Stewart said, following the Libs’ Game 3 loss to the Dream in October, which was the last time any of the players discussed how the team was being handled. Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu—the other two pieces to the Libs’ “Big 3″—have remained similarly hush over the last few weeks.

The whole trio is under contract until 2028, which gives the team some time to get back to the chip with its bedrock ballers, but that’s only if they find the right person to take DeMarco’s seat.