Indiana Fever part ways with head coach (HC), Christie Sides, marking the sixth WNBA HC to be fired this offseason

The GIST: The Indiana Fever parted ways with head coach (HC) Christie Sides yesterday, making her the sixth WNBA HC (of 12) to be fired in an already spicy offseason. Pass the milk — it’s time for a deep dive.

The background: The LA Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, Washington Mystics, and Fever have all dismissed their HCs in the last month, a remarkable turnover following one of the most-watched WNBA seasons of all-time.

• Notably, five of the six aforementioned teams (excluding the Fever) finished in the bottom half of the standings this year and four of the six (Sparks, Sky, Wings, and Mystics) didn’t make the playoffs at all.

• And there’s more change where that came from. On Saturday, the Las Vegas Aces fired their two-time championship-winning general manager (GM) Natalie Williams, the second GM firing of the offseason after the ’Stics parted ways with longtime GM Mike Thibault last Wednesday.

But why?: Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the WNBA is surging, dictating pop culture and drawing record-breaking eyes to the court. There’s skyrocketing pressure to win, and changing up a front office can have franchise-altering results.

• And the offseason shakeups are likely far from over. Numerous league legends are currently free agents, and the right HC can lure the shiniest star away from their current team. The ripple effects from the WNBA’s successful 2024 season have only just begun.