Oct 29, 2024 - Sports

Reports: Fever courting familiar face for top job

Arika Herron

Side by side photos of two female basketball coaches — Sides (left) is out. Is White (right) in? Photos: Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images and David Berding/Getty Images

Less than a week out from firing head coach Christie Sides, signs are pointing toward the Indiana Fever bringing back a familiar face to take her place.

Why it matters: Women's sports in general, and the WNBA in particular, are having a moment. Locking down a high-profile coach could help the team capitalize on recent fervor around Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark and the team's first playoff berth since 2016.

Driving the news: The Fever announced Sides' departure Sunday.

Sides was 33-47 in her two seasons with the Fever.

The latest: Almost immediately, speculation started swirling around who would replace her.

That coalesced around Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White after her departure was announced Monday.

Catch up quick: White was the 1995 Indiana Miss Basketball and led Purdue to the women's basketball National Championship in 1999.

She played five years in the WNBA, the last four with the Fever.
White returned to the Fever in 2011 as an assistant coach and was promoted to the top job in 2015.
She was head coach for two seasons before taking the same position at Vanderbilt University.

White returned to the WNBA in 2023 when she took over the head coach position for the Sun.

What they're saying: The Fever did not respond to a request for comment, but sports media — including Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Sun-Times — are reporting that White's hiring is "imminent."

The intrigue: White is the seventh WNBA head coach to part ways with their team this offseason.

The bottom line: The next chapter of Fever basketball is being written this offseason.

Add Axios on Google

Reports: Fever courting familiar face for top job

More Indianapolis stories