Women's Fastbreak On SI

Iowa Fans Imagine Lisa Bluder Becoming Caitlin Clark's Next Indiana Fever Head Coach

Iowa Hawkeyes fans are fantasing about Lisa Bluder taking over for Christie Sides with the Indiana Fever.
Grant Young|
Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder (left) and guard Caitlin Clark during press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder (left) and guard Caitlin Clark during press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever turned the WNBA world upside down on Sunday when they announced the firing of second-year head coach Christie Sides.

Sides' firing was both seismic and largely unexpected, especially considering that she led the Fever to their franchise's first WNBA playoffs appearance since 2016.

However, despite Sides inarguably improving the Fever while she was there, Indiana seems to believe that other candidates could do a better job than her in managing Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Fever roster.

And in the wake of Sides' firing, Iowa fans are noting one (former) head coach they believe could take over Indiana's head job next year: Lisa Bluder.

Bluder spent 24 seasons as the University of Iowa Hawkeyes' women's head basketball coach, the last four of which included her having Caitlin Clark.

Given her success at Iowa and her great relationship with the Fever superstar, many fans on social media are making a case for Bluder to replace Sides at Indiana's helm.

"Caitlin was actually back in Iowa city to recruit Lisa bluder to be the next head coach of the fever," one X user wrote, referencing how Clark is visiting her alma mater this weekend.

"someone call Lisa Bluder 👀," Rachel DeMita wrote after the firing was announced.

"So there's literally six coaching openings in the WNBA at the moment.

"Well, five because we all know Lisa Bluder's getting that Fever gig," added another.

It's unknown whether Bluder would even be willing to leave retirement to take the Fever job; not to mention that Stephanie White seems like the most likely candidate for the job at this point.

But if Clark made it clear that she wanted Bluder as her next head coach, the Fever might have no choice but to oblige.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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