Phoenix Mercury, Sandy Brondello agree to new multi-year contract
The Phoenix Mercury agreed to a new multi-year contract with head coach Sandy Brondello the team announced Thursday. In addition to her coaching duties, Brondello will continue in her role as vice president of player personnel with Phoenix.
“In three years as the head coach of this team, Sandy has been exactly the leader, communicator and winner that we thought she would be when she was hired in 2013,” said Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman. “More than the wins and the awards, she is a part of the Mercury family and fully committed to helping us sustain and grow our franchise, our league, and the game of women’s basketball. We are very happy to have Sandy, her husband Olaf, and their children, Brody and Jayda, with the Mercury long term.”
Named the ninth head coach in franchise history on November 15, 2013, Brondello became the first head coach in team history to win WNBA’s Coach of the Year after leading the Mercury to a WNBA-record 29 regular-season wins in 2014.
“I’m very excited to continue to be the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury,” Brondello said. “I appreciate the organization believing in me as a coach and the vision I have for this team moving forward. Together with Jim Pitman we will work hard to ensure we improve on the season we had this year and to bring another championship to the best fans in the WNBA.”
In three seasons, she owns three appearances in the Semifinals (formerly Western Conference Finals), one Finals appearance and the 2014 WNBA title when she became the first former player in WNBA history to win a championship as a head coach. Brondello owns a 65-37 (.637) regular-season record at the helm of the Mercury, the second-best record in the WNBA in the span behind only Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve.
An 11-year veteran of the WNBA coaching ranks as a head coach or an assistant, Brondello has been affiliated with the WNBA for 17 of its 20 seasons, including her time as a player. She is also a four-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist (2000, 2004) for Australia.
