Mercury give former Magic assistant biggest head coaching contract in WNBA history

Under new ownership and a massive investment in their future, the Phoenix Mercury hope they have it right this time.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the three-time WNBA champion franchise has hired former Orlando Magic assistant coach Nate Tibbetts as its new head coach. Tibbetts signed what is believed to be the biggest head coaching contract in WNBA history, surpassing what Becky Hammon received from the Las Vegas Aces in 2022.

The fourth person to hold the job in less than three seasons, Tibbetts replaces interim head coach Nikki Blue, who replaced former bench boss Vanessa Nygaard in June. Nygaard herself took over the job from longtime head coach Sandy Brondello, whose contract was not renewed after the 2021 WNBA season. (Brondello, of course, is now leading the charge in New York, where the Liberty won their first Finals game in 21 years on Sunday against Hammon's Aces.)

If the report is true, it shows that Mercury owner Mat Ishbia is just as willing to spend money (as relative to the WNBA's financial structure) to build a winner as he is for the Suns, the Mercury's brother franchise in the NBA. While the maximum salary for a WNBA player is a shade under $235,000 per season, there's no reported cap on coaching salaries. Ishbia would be following the footsteps of Mark Davis, who owns the Aces and the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, by shelling out top dollar for the best available coaches and team-specific facilities.

The Mercury could use all the help they can get after a dismal 9-31 campaign in 2023, the worst in the W and third-worst record in franchise history. What should have been a largely triumphant season with the return of Brittney Griner ended up being a disaster on all fronts - an increasingly ineffective Diana Taurasi, a roster lacking experience, and a fractured relationship with impending free agent Skylar Diggins-Smith, who sat out of the season while on maternity leave.