A wild offseason of WNBA coaching activity claimed another casualty on Monday when the Connecticut Sun parted ways with head coach Stephanie White.
Thank you, Coach.
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) October 28, 2024
We have parted ways with head coach Stephanie White. pic.twitter.com/lZLbcUXWyB
However, the seventh coach let go this hiring cycle might not be unemployed for long.
White could return to the Fever, who she coached from 2015-16, if a recent Chicago Sun-Times report is to be believed.
Per the Sun-Times' Annie Costabile, White is the favorite to be named the next Fever head coach.
In four seasons as a WNBA head coach, White is 92-56.
On Sunday, Indiana fired Christie Sides, who coached the Fever from 2023-24.
Breaking: The Indiana Fever have parted ways with head coach Christie Sides, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/P3lTiB80vu
— ESPN (@espn) October 27, 2024
White played for the Fever during the organization's first five seasons (2000-04), missing 2002 due to ankle and knee injuries.
She began her coaching career in 2007 as an assistant for the Sky (2007-10) and joined the Fever's staff in 2011.
After four seasons as an assistant (2011-13) and associate head coach (2014), White was promoted to head coach in 2015, when Indiana last reached the WNBA Finals.
She resigned following the 2016 season to take a college head coaching job at Vanderbilt, where she coached from 2016-17 through 2020-21, before becoming the Sun's head coach in 2023.
Her journey could lead her back to the Fever, which has arguably the brightest future of any WNBA franchise.
With the last two No. 1 overall picks and Rookie of the Year selections (Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark), Indiana has two of the league's top young talents.
After bottoming out with a 5-31 record in 2022, Indiana improved to 13-27 in Boston's first season (2023), followed by a major breakthrough in 2024 after Clark's arrival. The Fever finished the season 20-20, their most wins in a season since White's first season as head coach.
They reached the postseason for the first time since 2016 and lost to White's Sun squad in the opening round of the playoffs.
If they reunite, it would be a full-circle moment for the Fever and White. The two sides have plenty of history together and could be on the verge of making more.
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