South Florida Bulls head coach Jose Fernandez directs his team against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Dallas Wings' Jose Fernandez has similar path to GM Curt Miller

Originally posted on Dallas Wings on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 12:11 PM ET

The Dallas Wings are starting a new era with Jose Fernandez as their head coach.

Fernandez joins the team a year after Curt Miller became the general manager and the two are cut from the same cloth. The Athletic's Sabreena Merchant spoke about how the similar backgrounds with Miller and Fernandez may not be a coincidence for the Wings.

"Curt Miller, you know, you think about his background," Merchant said.

"He was a head coach at Bowling Green for a while, head coach at Indiana for a little bit. So, he understands the mid-major, like high major route coming into the WNBA, although he served as an assistant for one season before becoming a full-on WNBA head coach. So, I think there's some empathy for the transition that Jose Fernandez is about to undertake coming from this level of college basketball into the WNBA."

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fernandez, Miller should be in sync

Miller hired Chris Koclanes, a mentee of his with the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks, to be the head coach a year ago, but it didn't pan out as he had hoped. Now, Miller is opting for experience with Fernandez, someone he has likely known for a long time as the two became NCAA coaches around the same time.

Fernandez began at South Florida in 2000 while Miller started at Bowling Green in 2001. The pair have had similar trajectories in their careers, but Miller came to the WNBA 10 years ago and has enjoyed a considerable amount of success.

That experience could help shape Fernandez in hopes of having a long tenure with the Wings that will hopefully result in a lot of playoff appearances and a championship or two. While their shared experiences won't guarantee success, the Wings should be excited about Fernandez's past because it could help shape the future of the franchise in the right way.

This article first appeared on Dallas Wings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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