Vickie Johnson spent the last two years as head coach of the Wings, ending with a regular season record of 32-36.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings are shaking things up with the team’s top job: head coach.
The organization announced Monday that they’ve decided not to exercise the team option on head coach Vickie Johnson’s contract in line with the initial terms of the agreement.
Now, the search for a new leader begins immediately.
Johnson spent the last two years as head coach of the Wings, ending with a regular season record of 32-36.
Despite leading the team to back-to-back playoff appearances, it seems they just can’t get over the hump in post-season wins.
The Wings’ 2022 season came to a disappointing end after losing in a “win-or-go-home” Game 3 to the Connecticut Sun on their home floor last month.
Following the loss, Johnson said she believed the Wings was on the road to building something special in DFW and expressed how proud she was of the squad.
Overall, they went 1-3 win in the playoffs with Johnson at the helm.
“While our organization has taken steps forward this season, at this time I believe a change provides our team with the best opportunity to achieve our long-term goals of advancing in the playoffs and ultimately competing for a WNBA Championship,” Dallas Wings President and CEO Greg Bibb said in a press release. “I would like to thank Vickie for her work on behalf of the organization and wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Johnson is no stranger to success in the WNBA. She’s a former WNBA player herself and two-time all-star. She was drafted in the second round of the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997.
Johnson played with the New York Liberty and was the first player to record 2,000 points. In 2005, when she hit the 3,000-point mark, the world-famous Carnegie Deli in Manhattan created the “VJ Classic sandwich” in her honor.
After 13 seasons in the WNBA with the Liberty and the San Antonio Stars, she retired in 2009. She made her head coaching debut in 2016 with the Stars – before the team relocated to Vegas, becoming the Las Vegas Aces. Johnson was hired by then Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer as an assistant coach. In 2021, she was hired as head coach with the Wings.
Ironically, the Aces just won the 2022 WNBA Championship with first-year head coach Becky Hammon, who left an assistant coach position with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to take over in Las Vegas.
The move paid off!
Will the Wings’ move result in the same? Only time will tell once the roster of contenders for the head coach position is released.