Liberty Fire Chris DeMarco After Playoff Upset and Strong Record

The New York Liberty fired coach Chris DeMarco after one season, despite a 26-18 finish and a first-round upset of top-seeded Minnesota as the No. 8 playoff seed. The Liberty were swept by the Atlanta Dream in the semifinals, with injuries to Satou Sabally, Sabrina Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich hampering the season. DeMarco faced scrutiny after a timeout was not called late in the elimination loss, and the team’s stars offered no firm public endorsement of his return. General manager Jonathan Kolb will lead another coaching search, the franchise’s fourth hire since 2019.