Storm Announce Contract Extension for Coach Quinn and Promotion for Pokey Chatman

Seattle's Coaching Staff receives extension and promotion.

Today, the Seattle Storm announced two major pieces of news. First, is that Coach Noelle Quinn has signed a new multi-year contract extension. The second is that Assistant Coach Pokey Chatman is being promoted to Associate General Manager of the Seattle Storm.

This reaffirms stability within the organization retaining the team’s head coach since 2021. As well as Coach Quinn’s top assistant. This news comes just a few weeks after the Storm organization locked up All-Star guard, Jewell Loyd, to a two-year contract extension keeping Loyd on the team through the 2025 season. The team’s near future is now set.

Per the Seattle Storm Press Release Coach Noelle Quinn and Assistant Coach Pokey Chatman had this to say.

“I would like to thank our ownership group, CEO Alisha Valavanis, and GM Talisa Rhea, for their belief in me and the opportunity to continue to be the head coach of this franchise,” said Quinn. “One key to great organizations is motivated people that are committed to excellence. This is what the Seattle Storm embodies and I am grateful to be a part of it. I’d also like to thank our supportive, passionate, and dedicated fans. I’m so thrilled for what’s to come!”

“First and foremost, I’d like to thank our ownership group and the leadership team, along with Coach Quinn for this opportunity to help impact our team in yet another meaningful way,” said Chatman. “I’m looking forward to our offseason ahead, charting our path, and securing players to join this top-notch organization.”

Both parties will still report to Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea who gave this statement today.

“As we build towards our next championship, we are thrilled to continue with Noelle leading the way for our team,” said Rhea. “Noelle’s competitive passion, basketball IQ, and extensive playing career, coupled with her sideline experience as one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league positions our team to be successful as we pursue excellence on the court.

In addition, we are excited to utilize Pokey’s vast experience and knowledge of our league in a more formalized capacity to continue elevating Seattle as a top destination for players across our league,” said Rhea. “She is an exceptional ambassador for the game and for the Storm and we look forward to her playing an integral part in our future success.”

Overall Thoughts on the News

As I briefly mentioned above, this brings more stability to the Seattle Storm organization which is a great thing. Teams that have a revolving door at the head coaching positions rarely find success by constantly making changes every one to two years. You can look outside of the WNBA either locally with the Seattle Seahawks or over in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, where Coach Pete Carroll has been the Seahawks Head Coach for 13 years, or Mike Tomlin who has coached the Steelers for the past 16 years.

Pete Carroll has led the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl Championship. In the 13 previous years, the Seahawks have reached the post-season 10 out of the 13 years. That is a tremendous success.

Mike Tomlin has also led the Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances with one Championship Trophy to his name during his 16 seasons. Tomlin’s Steelers have reached the playoffs 10 times in the past 16 years; still a very successful ratio.

The reason I bring up the Steelers is because that franchise is the epitome of stability. Since 1969, they have only had three head coaches - Chuck Noll (1969-1991), Bill Cowher (1992-2006), and Mike Tomlin (2007-present). They are also one of the most successful organizations with six Super Bowl Championships, eight Super Bowl appearances, and 24 Division Titles.

Stability is important!

I know some fans have questioned whether Coach Quinn is the right person to lead the team to another WNBA title or not. Until she does, I suppose it’s a fair question to ask. But I also believe she takes a lot of unnecessary criticism at times.

Quinn had one of the best teams in the league in 2021. The team got worn down towards the end of the season with their three star players - Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, and Sue Bird all playing heavy minutes in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Those three players had some of the highest MPG during the Olympics with Bird and Stewart both starting. They won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup trophy in 2021 right after the Olympics. And looked prime to be a serious contender to win the WNBA Championship that season. That is until Breanna Stewart partially tore her Achilles in one of the final regular season games that year. Without Stewart, the Storm were quickly eliminated in the playoffs. But that wasn’t Quinn’s fault Stewart’s body failed at the wrong time.

Fast forward to 2022, and once again the Storm were one of the best teams in the WNBA. They had a legit shot at the WNBA Championship sweeping away the Washington Mystics in the first round and reaching the WNBA Semi-Finals. But then they ran into a buzzsaw, the Las Vegas Aces. Nobody was stopping Las Vegas from winning last year as seen by their dominance throughout the playoffs. But the Storm gave them a bigger challenge than anyone else. Winning Game 1 in Las Vegas and being one second away from Winning Game 3. I still believe that if Chelsea Gray doesn’t play completely out of her mind in the 2022 playoffs, there is a very high chance the Storm win that series and go on to win their 5th WNBA title.

This past season, Quinn’s third year was a complete rebuild. Sue Bird retired at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Breanna Stewart opted to leave for New York. But Stewart also didn’t make her decision known for quite a while (at least publicly). I could be wrong, but it felt like Stewart’s delayed decision had a negative impact on the Storm during Free Agency. As they weren’t able to get commitments without knowing the status of Stewart. They also didn’t know how much money they’d have to offer other players because I also strongly believe that if Breanna Stewart re-signed with the Storm then Courtney Vandersloot would have signed here as well. I assume the Storm’s Front Office believed that as well. By losing out on Stewart, they also lost out on their best option to replace Sue Bird with Courtney Vandersloot.

Without those pieces or the other top choices in Free Agency, the team had to settle for younger players, draft picks, and fewer marquee star players. With the roster as constructed for the 2023 season, at best the team was going to earn the 7th or 8th playoff spot. And ultimately, the team wasn’t even that good and finished 11th. Which honestly, is better than being one of those final playoff teams that just gets swept by 30+ points a game in the first round.

With Quinn being given this multi-year contract extension she has the comfort level to know her job is safe for now. That should release some tension and any other negative effects that occur when a coach is on the “hot seat”. Quinn is also assured by this move, that she has time to continue to develop her younger players like Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Jade Melbourne, etc., and should not feel rushed that the team has to immediately turn things around in 2024.

Regarding Pokey Chatman, I think this is a very smart hire/promotion. Pokey is well-respected in WNBA circles and loved by players from what I’ve gathered. Coach Quinn has also praised Pokey for what she’s done and what it means to her to be there as another voice to lean on, learn from, and bounce ideas off of.

I can’t say for certain but there are likely two WNBA Coaching vacancies this off-season. The Chicago Sky and the Phoenix Mercury. Earlier this year, there were some suggestions that the Sky should look to bring Chatman back. During that Chicago article, Chatman was interviewed and said that she isn’t aggressively seeking other coaching offers but that she always takes the call and listens to offers.

The Storm were smart to make an offer and keep Chatman around. Pokey should be a great asset as another General Manager. As mentioned above, she’s well-known and well-respected by many WNBA Players and Chatman should have success in being able to help recruit additional Free Agents to Seattle. She has also worked as a GM before and can help bring that experience to the Storm while scouting draft prospects as well.

The Storm have secured Coach Quinn, Coach Chatman, and Jewell Loyd for the next couple of years at least. Now it’s time to start scouting college players for the upcoming draft, and working on their Free Agency pitches!