One of the lingering, but less-often talked about elements to this WNBA offseason was the Dallas Wings’ coaching status.
The lone team (so far) with a coaching vacancy, the Wings and Brian Agler parted ways after the season despite a breakout year for Arike Ogunbowale which had the young Dallas star in this past year’s MVP conversation.
One of the hopes among many WNBA and Wings fans was that the organization would decide to hire a Black woman for its open position – given that only two of the league’s current head coaches (Derek Fisher – Los Angeles Sparks, James Wade – Chicago Sky) are Black. There are also four woman coaches – Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx), Marianne Stanley (Indiana Fever), Nicki Collen (Atlanta Dream) and Sandy Brondello (Phoenix Mercury).
Then … news began to break regarding said big news.
Vickie Johnson is expected to be named the next head coach of the Dallas Wings, multiple sources have told The Athletic. https://t.co/reyioI4Xfe
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) December 3, 2020
Vickie Johnson, current assistant with the Las Vegas Aces under Bill Laimbeer and former San Antonio Stars coach, is expected to be named the Wings new coach.
Johnson will inherit a young and talented Wings team that has drafted well the last few years. The talent with Dallas includes Ogunbowale as well as Megan Gustafson, Katie Lou Samuelson, Ty Harris, Bella Alarie and Satou Sabally.
Agler, a coach used to leading veteran teams in Seattle and Los Angeles, saw two of the game’s biggest stars in Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins-Smith leave the organization to the Aces and Mercury, respectively in back to back offseasons. This left Agler one of the youngest teams in the W to coach – an unusual situation given his career.
He left the Sparks and was replaced by Fisher amidst a controversial coaching search in Los Angeles led by its former general manager Penny Toler, who has since departed the Sparks amidst a lawsuit she filed against the franchise.
Johnson could be the next step in changing the trajectory of the franchise – if she is not haunted by some of Dallas’ questionable personnel decisions of the past. Even with that, Dallas has drafted well and the Johnson hire on the eve of the draft lottery where the Wings hope to pick first in next year’s draft may be more than a bit of a coincidence.
That lottery will see the Wings hope for that first pick along with the Dream, Fever and New York Liberty.
