Mercury part ways with coach Brondello after finals run

PHOENIX (AP) — Sandy Brondello is out as the Phoenix Mercury's coach after leading the team to the WNBA Finals in her eighth season.

The Mercury announced Monday that the team and Brondello mutually agreed to part ways and her contract, which expired after the 2021 season, will not be renewed.

“She oversaw our program with the utmost integrity and I'm sincerely grateful for her partnership and friendship,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a statement. “Sandy and her family will always be part of the X-Factor family and we wish them the best. At the same time, we understand an eight-year tenure for a head coach is an exception in any professional sport, and we are confident a new voice is necessary for our team at this time.”

A former WNBA player and four-time Australian Olympian, Brondello led the Mercury to the 2014 WNBA title and to the finals last season, where they lost 3-1 to the Chicago Sky. She is the Australian Olympic team coach.

Brondello was the 2014 WNBA coach of the year and served as the team’s vice president of player personnel. The Mercury went 150-108 under Brondello.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity and time I have had with the Phoenix Mercury, and would like to thank Robert Sarver and Jim Pitman, my staff and players I have worked with through the years,” Brondello said in a statement. “Thank you also to the X-Factor for your support and making the atmosphere at our games so memorable.”