Sky Could Benefit From Storm Firing Head Coach

The four-time WNBA champion Storm announced they fired head coach Noelle Quinn. She not only was a former player of theirs on two occasions, but Quinn has been a part of Seattle's coaching staff since 2019.

The Sky failed to make the playoffs in their first seven seasons. Chicago went through three different head coaches before hiring Pokey Chatman and qualifying for their first-ever postseason berth in 2013. That season, the Sky had Rookie of the Year winner Elena Della Donne and Defensive Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles.

That was a dozen seasons ago. Since then, the Sky have never gone more than two seasons in a row without making the playoffs. If they fail to get into the postseason in 2026, that streak will be broken.

How Noelle Quinn can return the Sky back to the WNBA Playoffs

The Los Angeles, California native has an accomplished resume as a player and a young coach in this league. In her last season playing in the WNBA, Quinn won a championship with the Storm. After retiring, Seattle immediately brought her on as an assistant head coach in 2019.

Quinn then was promoted to associate head coach in time for the 2020 WNBA regular season. The Storm won their fourth and most recent WNBA title in franchise history. A year later, Quinn became the head coach for Seattle.

She took over for Dan Hughes after her stepped down as the head coach of the the Storm. In Quinn's first year in charge, Seattle made won the WNBA Commissioner's Cup in 2021. They have made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons except for the 2023 season.

In 2023, the Las Vegas Aces won their second WNBA title in as many years. Marsh was one of the assistant coaches on staff for Becky Hammond, another former WNBA player.

After taking over a 13-win teams from former Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, Chicago barely won 10 game in 2025 under the first season with Marsh calling plays. Turnovers, offensive scoring and the ability to stop teams are what plagued the Sky this season.

If the Sky want to keep stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso happy, they may need to make another change with the coaching staff. Quinn is the second-winningest head coach in Storm history. Despite a 97-89 record during four a half seasons, the former Storm head coach was just 4-8 in 12 playoff games.

No announcements have been by Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca. However, Chicago may be monitoring other movement in the head coaching pool.

Regardless, Reese and Cardoso want to be in their first ever postseason. The Sky don't want their first-three year absence in over a decade.