Hot Seat: Sky HC or GM Closer to Being Fired?
After an early exit from the 2023 WNBA Playoffs, the Chicago Sky needed a change. The team made a coaching change that season mid-year. Emre Vatansever took over for the departed James Wade.
Wade was the head coach during the 2021 WNBA Championship run for the Sky. After going 7-9, Chicago decided new leadership on the sidelines was in order.
Heading into the 2024 WNBA Season, the Sky saw many new faces become a part of the organization. Not only was Vatansever ousted as both the coach and general manager, she was replaced by two separate individuals.
🚨Tyler Marsh has been named the new head coach of the Chicago Sky 🚨
— CHGO Sky (@CHGO_Sky) November 2, 2024
More new beginnings for the franchise from the head coach position
Will be plenty more news to come, including a podcast from us to dive into the details etc. — stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/gqI1KXM13r
Jeff Pagilocca became the GM in the fall of 2023 and Teresa Weatherspoon became the eighth different head coach in franchise history. The former New York Liberty star lasted just one season before Pagliocca made the second decision on a head coach during his tenure.
A pair of WNBA titles with the Las Vegas Aces as an assistant head coach, Tyler Marsh became the ideal coach to bring the Sky back to the WNBA Playoffs. However, that did not happen in 2025, either.
Entering the third season with Pagliocca in charge and the second season with Marsh as the coach, which person within the Sky's organization is in the hot seat more?
The good and the bad of Tyler Marsh
Marsh has earned the respect of his players during last season, especially when it came to the safety of his players. Chicago's head coach was ejected in the first half of a game against the Connecticut Sun when he was arguing about non-calls that resulted in his players being hurt or receiving aggressive physical contact.
One of the main reasons that Marsh was hired was because of his reputation for being big on player development. Angel Reese increased her scoring by one point from her rookie year to this past season. Reese also averaged the league's most rebounds for the second year in a row.
Marsh had no answer for the team's excessive turnover rate. Something that Reese was guilty of herself. That led to the Sky going just 10-34 in Marsh's first season as their head coach. Hopefully, he improves upon this mark in 2026.
Chicago Sky's GM Jeff Pagliocca is operating like it's business as usual with Angel Reese this offseason 😳 pic.twitter.com/4jX8Z8tSHp
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 12, 2025
The good and the bad of Jeff Pagliocca
If hiring on potential was given an award, the Sky's general manager could easily be a recipient. Pagliocca brought in a reputable WNBA veteran as his first head coach. Weatherspoon was fired her after Chicago went 13-27.
Even after her being relieved of duties players like Reese took to social media to show their support for Weatherspoon. Towards the end of last season, Reese also criticized the Sky organization and players on their seriousness of winning.
Pagliocca squandered away the draft rights to Sonia Citron and a future first-round pick swap for a veteran guard in Ariel Atkins. The former Washington Mystic is now a free agent. Mortgaging the future for an aging veteran who battled multiple injuries did not jetison the Sky back to the postseason.
In addition, Pagliocca added Hailey Van Lith in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Draft. She was barely a factor for Chicago this season. She rarely saw the minutes a lottery draft player covets when joining a losing team.
Marsh has the better resume between him and Pagliocca. However, both men may have their days numbered with the Sky.
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My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.