New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said he expects to be back on the bench in 2027, even though the team has not publicly confirmed any decision about his future following its semifinal exit. DeMarco made the comments after New York was swept by the Atlanta Dream in the playoffs, ending his first season in charge.
“As far as I know, every communication I’ve had, dialogue I’ve had, the answer is yes,” DeMarco said, referencing conversations with general manager Jonathan Kolb about returning next season.
DeMarco Liberty Coaching Future
DeMarco said he has spoken directly with Kolb about his job status and has come away from those discussions believing he will remain the Liberty’s coach. He framed the exchanges as consistent and affirmative, though neither DeMarco nor the Liberty have issued a formal announcement locking in his return for next season.
Kolb, for his part, said the organization determined that “evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time,” a statement that leaves open questions about what changes the front office expects heading into next season even as DeMarco expresses confidence in his own job security.
Players Decline To Back DeMarco Publicly
When reporters asked Liberty players Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart whether they wanted DeMarco back, none of the three endorsed his return.
Jones kept her answer noncommittal. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. Regardless, thankful for him coaching us this year and giving us a chance and we just fell short,” she said.
Ionescu was similarly measured, saying, “Those decisions aren’t ours. I think my focus and what I’m thinking about right now is just: missed opportunity.”
How The Season Ended
The Liberty finished the regular season 26-18, one win fewer than the previous year, and dropped to the eighth seed in the playoffs after finishing fifth in 2025. Atlanta swept New York in the semifinals, a series that included a 101-98 overtime loss in Game 2 that put the Liberty in an 0-2 hole, according to USA Today.
That loss was overshadowed by confusion in the final seconds of overtime over whether New York had a reset timeout available. DeMarco said he asked officials directly and was told the Liberty did not have one, only to learn afterward that the team had left the game with a timeout unused.
“I asked Kevin (Fahy), I said, ‘Do we have a reset timeout?’ And he said, ‘I’m going to check at the table.’ So then he looked to Fatou (Cissoko-Stephens), and she said, ‘No.’ So, then he told me no. Of course, who knows what would happen in the game, but we would have hopefully a better shot on goal. This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end and they tell us no, and then we leave the game with a reset timeout, it’s pretty frustrating,” DeMarco said.
Stewart described a similar account of the officiating exchange before attempting a 32-foot 3-point shot on the final play after Angel Reese made two free throws with four seconds left in overtime. “Yes, same thing. They said we didn’t have it.
They just said we didn’t have it. Yeah, multiple staff members. So it is what it is.
We got to demand more, but it is what it is,” Stewart said.
Dream coach Karl Smesko said afterward that he believed the Liberty still had a timeout available, telling reporters, “I thought they had a timeout left, but they played it out the way they did. So I was expecting it to be advanced, but it wasn’t. Fortunately, we were able to get the stop.”
Context On DeMarco’s First Season
DeMarco took over the Liberty after a lengthy coaching search, arriving as a longtime Golden State Warriors assistant whose only previous head coaching experience came leading the Bahamian men’s national team. He replaced Sandy Brondello, who was fired one year after guiding the franchise to its first WNBA championship.
The combination of a first-year coach, a lower playoff seed and a swift postseason exit has put DeMarco’s tenure under scrutiny just months after he was hired to lead a roster that includes Stewart, Ionescu and Jones.
What’s Next
No official confirmation of DeMarco’s status for 2027 has been made by the Liberty or Kolb. The team’s offseason decisions on its coaching staff and roster construction will determine whether DeMarco’s expectation of returning matches the organization’s eventual plans.
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