The Seattle Storm are parting ways with head coach Noelle Quinn, as the team announced Sunday it will not renew her contract for 2026.
Quinn was the Storm’s head coach since early in the 2021 season, when Dan Hughes retired six games into the campaign.
“On behalf of our organization, I would like to thank Noelle for her time with the Storm. Her commitment to the ongoing success of our organization and to furthering the development of our players was second to none,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said in a statement. “She put us in a position to win at the highest levels of the game and for that, we are grateful.”
Quinn, 40, coached the Storm to four playoff appearances in five years. They advanced to the second round in 2021 and the league semifinals in 2022.
This past season, Seattle went 23-21 and made the playoffs as the seventh seed in the WNBA playoffs. The Storm’s first-round series with the heavily favored Las Vegas Aces was full of high drama, as they rallied from a blowout in Game 1 to take an 86-83 win in Game 2 before losing on a buzzer-beater, 74-73, in the deciding Game 3.
Quinn ends her Seattle coaching tenure with a 97-89 regular-season record.
She played 12 seasons in the WNBA, including five with the Storm. Shortly after her retirement, Quinn was hired by the Storm as an assistant coach ahead of the 2019 season.
Seattle is the first franchise to part ways with its head coach this offseason. Two expansion teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, also have head coach openings before they begin play in 2026.
–Field Level Media
