‘Catch 22’: Analysing our most coveted coaching jobs

• NBL and WNBL dominate Australia’s most coveted head coaching roles.
• Brisbane and Adelaide highlight how fast coaching pressure can escalate.
• WNBL expansion in 2026–27 adds two major jobs to the market.

The 22 most coveted head coaching jobs in Australia are in the NBL, WNBL, Boomers and Opals.

This elite group welcomed a new member yesterday when former Townsville Fire championship coach Claudia Brassard was appointed the inaugural head coach of the Tasmania Jewels.

Fans, critics, former coaches and players alike have pummelled the wooden spoon Brisbane Bullets for the amount of coaches the NBL club has had in nine years … it’s seven for the record … but six in five years.

The Adelaide Lightning have also come in for some tough criticism after appointing their fourth coach in 12 months this season.

But it gets narrow at the top of the funnel, and every coach is measured by results; some are given time to build, while others are given none. Australian basketball has dozens of exceptional coaches, from veterans to emerging sideline stars.

basketball.com.au has taken a close look at each job, the incumbent head coach and the next generation of coaches preparing to step into the spotlight.

Mel Downer has signed on as the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence women's program coach, so she has been removed from our candidates list.

Incumbent WNBL Head Coaches

Adelaide Lightning

Record: 6-17

Aja Parham-Ammar took over as the interim head coach in WNBL26 from Kerryn Mitchell. It was a job interview of the toughest kind. The Lightning have had four coaches in little more than 12 months: Nat Hurst (2022-24); Scott Ninnis (2024-25); Kerryn Mitchell (2025); and Parham-Ammar (2025-26). Stability isn’t the calling card for one of the WNBL’s most storied clubs, and Interim coaches are always in the HOT SEAT. Parham-Ammar was the 2023 Basketball Queensland Female Coach of the Year and Head Coach of the Logan Thunder in NBL1 2025.

Bendigo Spirit

Record: 16-7

Kennedy Kereama is as SAFE AS HOUSES. Kereama was named WNBL26 Coach of the Year and led the Spirit to a championship last season and to the semi-finals this season, despite losing MVP Sami Whitcomb, a younger core group, and the losses of Marianna Tolo and Casey Samuels. Kereama is one of the best coaches in Australia. He joined the Spirit ahead of the 2022-23 season after leading the New Zealand Tall Ferns from 2010 to 2017.

Canberra Capitals

Record: 9-14

Two-time WNBL championship head coach Paul Goriss’ seat is WARM. Goriss was the WNBL coach of the year in 2019-20. He has won titles with the Capitals, served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA (2022-24), and returned to Canberra as an assistant coach. He was appointed head coach in 2024. Expectations were high at the start of WNBL26 with an upgraded roster but Canberra has struggled to string wins together and finished fifth.

Geelong Venom

Record: 7-16

Chris Lucas coached his 400th game in WNBL26, but it was a tough campaign for the rebranded Venom. Injuries have impacted the squad and hurt any chance of continuity. Lucas signed a two-year deal before the start of the 2024-25 season, Geelong's first in the WNBL, and the two-time championship-winning coach and WNBL Coach of the Year’s season hasn't gone the way he or the club would have hoped.

Perth Lynx

Record: 18-5

Ryan Petrik is SAFE AS HOUSES. Petrik led the Lynx into the WNBL26 Championship Series but fell short to Shannon Seebohm’s Townsville Fire. The Lynx finished second on the ladder and recruited Chinese superstar Han Xu. The last time Perth missed the playoffs was in 2020. Petrik’s Lynx were beaten by a better team in WNBL26, but make no mistake, Perth will be back next season under Petrik.

Southside Melbourne Flyers

Record: 11-12

WNBL champion as a player, an Australian Opal and WNBA player, Kristi Harrower is Australian basketball royalty, but her head coaching seat was starting to warm up, but it COOLED quickly. The Flyers started WNBL26 rough, but went on a play-off clinch run to make the top four. Harrower galvanised the Flyers after a Game 1 semi-finals blowout to the Townsville Fire with the now famous “Keep your mouth shut” Game 2 blowout in Melbourne. A sub-500 record isn’t ideal, but getting to the semis made it better.

Sydney Flames

Record: 6-17

Renae Garlepp’s seat is ICE COLD. The Flames locked down Garlepp for two seasons on February 3, 2026, after the Australian Gems World Cup coach took over from Guy Molloy mid-season amid injuries galore, no second import, Agnes Emma-Nnopu with a concussion, and import Grace Berger ruled out. Garlepp is highly respected and would have been first in line for Tasmania Jewels, which makes it huge for Sydney to lock her in.

Townsville Fire

Record: 19-4

There’s SAFE AS HOUSES, and then there’s Shannon Seebohm. Seebohm isn’t just one of the best women’s coaches in Australia; he’s one of the best coaches in Australia, full stop. He put on a masterclass in the WNBL26 Final Series, leading the Fire to another championship. At just 37, he is already a five-time WNBL Coach of the Year, two-time WNBL champion (2023 and 2026) and two-time NBL1 North Coach of the Year.

Expansion teams

Tasmania Jewels

WNBL27

Claudia Brassard began her WNBL coaching tenure as an assistant under Chris Lucas at the Townsville Fire before taking over as head coach from 2016 to 2019. She led the Fire to the 2018 WNBL championship, delivering the club’s third title in four seasons. After departing in 2019, Brassard returned to coaching in 2025 with the Townsville Flames in NBL1 North. She now becomes the inaugural head coach of the Tasmania Jewels, guiding the expansion club into its first WNBL season.

Queensland-based club

Launch data and location yet to be announced.

2026-27 WNBL Head Coaching Candidates

• Guy Molloy: Moved into the Flames front office after stepping down mid-season.
• Dave Herbert: Was the Head Coach of the Basketball Australia Women's Program at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for three years before leaving in May 2025. He has coached NBL1, WNBL and National Junior Championships
• Cheryl Chambers: Is the head coach of the Sandringham Sabres for the NBL1 South Women’s Conference in 2026. She is an assistant coach to Sandy Brondello on the Australian Opals. Her resume is elite: three WNBL championships (2017, 2020, 2024); and three WNBL Coach of the Year awards (2005, 2009, 2017).
• Tully Bevilaqua: Former WNBA star and Indiana Fever player development coach Tully Bevilaqua became a “video associate” for the 2024 WNBA season. She was an assistant coach with the Phoenix Mercury in 2023.
• Marcus Wong (Fire AC): WNBL assistant coach with a wealth of experience and knowledge, serving as Seebohm's deputy at the Townsville Fire. There’s no better place to learn the craft. Wong has also been an assistant coach at Adelaide and won several championships as a head coach at the state league level. He led the Cairns Dolphins to the NBL1 North semi-finals this past season.
• John White (Bendigo AC): Another coach who has been an assistant at both the WNBL and NBL levels. He is coming off a season in which he helped Kennedy Kereama's Bendigo Spirit claim the 2024-25 WNBL championship, following an 18-3 regular season, before going undefeated in the playoffs. White was also an assistant coach for Larissa Anderson at the Dandenong Rangers and for Chris Anstey at the Melbourne Tigers.
• Matt Clarke (Flyers AC): Was appointed head coach of the West Adelaide Bearcats (NBL1 Women) for the 2026 season. He won the NBL1 Central Coach of the Year in 2021, served as the lead assistant for the Adelaide Lightning, and was a guest coach for the New York Liberty in the WNBA.
• Kristen Veal: A legend of the WNBL as a player and was part of several championships with the Canberra Capitals as Paul Goriss' assistant coach. She was appointed head coach of the Caps when Goriss joined the Atlanta Dream, but was replaced by Goriss in 2024 upon his return. Veal has been the head coach of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence women's program.
• Paul Flynn (Nunawading HC, former Melbourne Boomers AC): Was re-appointed head coach of the Spectres in October 2025. Flynn has coached the Spectres women’s team since 2017 and was the Boomers assistant in the WNBL from 2017 to 2022.
• Brendan Joyce (Ballarat Women's NBL1 HC): Is heading into his 26th year as a coach. He led the Illawarra Hawks to their first NBL championship in 2001 and is a two-time NBL Coach of the Year. He was appointed head coach of the Ballarat Miners NBL1 South Conference team in December 2025.

Off the board

• Tess Madgen (Opals legend/Bendigo NBL1 coach): Is one of the most respected basketballers in Australia. She retired after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and is now poised to take on a major role. Madgen signed with the Bendigo Braves in NBL1 South on a two-year deal in October. She is a key voice in the new WNBL.

Incumbent NBL Head Coaches

Adelaide 36ers

Record: 23-11

American Mike Wells had the 36ers at the top of the pile heading into the home stretch of the NBL26 regular season, but it went pear-shaped. The 55-year-old is now sitting in an UNCERTAIN seat. Wells’ back end of NBL26 unravelled amid on and off-court turbulence despite Adelaide sitting top for much of the season. A wild Ignite Cup melee against Brisbane saw Wells allege Hunter Maldonado punched Nick Rakocevic – claims later disputed by multiple video angles reviewed frame-by-frame. As losses mounted – five in seven – reports surfaced that the club had met about his future, though ownership denied it. Adelaide blew a 16-point lead to Illawarra, slipped from first to second, then fell 110–107 to New Zealand in the Ignite Cup Final, compounding a late-season slide. Wells has 26 years of experience in the United States, including Team USA. He started his coaching career as an intern with the Houston Rockets in 1994, during the team's first of back-to-back NBA championships, and has been an assistant coach with the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz and Hornets.

Brisbane Bullets

Record: 6-27

Musical chairs best describes the Bullets: Andrej Lemanis; James Duncan; Sam Mackinnon; Greg Vanderjagt; Justin Schueller; Stu Lash; and now interim head coach Darryl McDonald, since the Bullets rejoined the league in 2016-17.  D-Mac, in the most public way, said on December 30, 2025: “They don’t need a coach – I’m right here, man. Stop bringing these coaches from the States. It hasn’t worked. What we are doing is overhauling people. You got a coach right here. "I know what it takes to win in this league.” But it’s no secret the Bullets are trying to sign a coach from the US despite interest from several Australian coaches. It’s highly unlikely McDonald will be the coach of the Bullets in NBL27. McDonald’s seat is SIZZLING.

Cairns Taipans

Record: 9-24

Adam Forde came back to the Taipans after deciding to leave the club after the NBL25. He credited coaching the Australian 3x3 team for reigniting the spark. The Taipans splashed the cash but were hurt by injuries. But everyone has injuries. The Taipans battled hard down to stretch to avoid winning the wooden spoon with Brisbane. Forde is a four-time NBL champion as an assistant coach with the Perth Wildcats and NBL Coach of the Year in 2023 with the Taipans. But he’s in a HOT seat, and he’s earned the right to make his own decision.

Illawarra Hawks

Record: 13-20

NBL Coach of the Year and NBL25 championship coach Justin Tatum is as COOL as the seat he’s sitting in. Tatum is already a legend in the ‘Gong, and despite the Hawks' title defence failing to launch, Tatum has already said he wants to come back for NBL26. Roster construction will be Tatum's top priority ahead of NBL27.

Melbourne United

Record: 20-13

Dean Vickerman is one of the best coaches in the NBL. Just the thought of Vickerman being in a hot seat is unthinkable. Vickerman has led Melbourne United to back-to-back Grand Finals, but the pain of losing both is real. United jumped out of the gates 9-0 in NBL26, but the FIBA Break hurt United. Vickerman knows how to win. His seat is well and truly on the COLD side, and no one wants to play his team in the Finals, except Scott Roth’s JackJumpers on Thursday, March 5, 2025, in the qualifying final.

Perth Wildcats

Record: 21-12

John Rillie’s seat is WARMISH. The Wildcats finished fourth and faced recruiting and injury headwinds all season, and are still recovering from how Bryce Cotton left the ball club. Rillie was an assistant coach at Boise State in the NCAA from 2011-17, an assistant at Santa Barbara from 2017-22, and then appointed head coach of the Wildcats in 2022. With Cotton, Rillie was 50-35 (58%) and without 12-10 (54%).

South East Melbourne Phoenix

Record: 22-11

American Josh King is an elite coach who was runner-up to Australia’s greatest coach, Brian Goorjian, in the NBL26 Coach of the Year award. South East Melbourne Phoenix are so tough to play against because King’s squad has bought in on both sides of the ball. His seat is as COOL as the other side of the pillow (Thanks, Stuart Scott). King has done the hard yards since 2008: Vassar College (assistant); UMass Lowell (assistant); Marshall (assistant); New Hampshire (assistant); Riesen Ludwigsburg (assistant); USK Praha; Darüşşafaka; and now South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Sydney Kings

Record: 24-9

Seven-time NBL Coach of the Year — Brian Goorjian. The six-time NBL champion’s seat is both SAFE & COLD. Goorj will coach for as long as he wants; his only challenge is that, at 72, he can’t call a time-out on Father Time. Goorjian's first coaching job was with the Ballarat Miners in 1986-87 – 40 years ago. Intriguingly, could Andrew Bogut’s appointment as an assistant coach before NBL26 be a head coaching apprenticeship for the former NBA star and champion? Bogut’s basketball IQ is off the charts; he is highly respected, and downloading from Goorjian is a frightening prospect for rival coaches.

Tasmania JackJumpers

Record: 14-19

American Scott Roth has the Tasmania JackJumpers job for as long as he wants it. Roth is a no-nonsense HC who is as SAFE as the gold inside Fort Knox. Roth led the JackJumpers to the championship in 2024, and his ball club grinded its way through injuries to 14-19 in NBL26. Injuries and building chemistry with his new backcourt were always going to take time, but rival coaches know to be prepared when it’s the Jackies. Roth, the NBL Coach of the Year in 2022,  has been an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons. The JackJumpers are in very good hands.

Vacant NBL Positions

New Zealand Breakers

Record:  14-20

Finnish head coach Petteri Koponen gifted the Breakers $300,000 and the inaugural Ignite Cup before departing after his second season. Koponen’s basketball pedigree as a player was elite. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round in 2007. He arrived in the NBL with a bang, getting the Breakers out to a 6-2 start to NBL25, but finished the season 10-19. Paul Henare and Judd Flavell cast a long shadow over the program and are now strong candidates to take over from PK.

2026-27 NBL Head Coaching Candidates

• Jacob Chance: Former Melbourne United, Tasmania JackJumpers and Perth Wildcats assistant, was named G League Coach of the Month in November 2025 after leading the Austin Spurs to a 9-1 record to start his first season as a head coach. Chance, at 31, is a rising star in Australian basketball.
• Matthew Nielsen: One of Australia’s greatest NBL players, who has spent the last four years at the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA working alongside one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, Gregg Popovich. It doesn’t get any better than that for the 47-year-old. Nielsen started his coaching career in 2015 as an assistant coach with the Perth Wildcats, moved to the Austin Spurs in 2019, and then joined the Spurs coaching staff in 2021.
• Trevor Gleeson: The head coach of the Chiba Jets in the Japan B.League from 2024. Gleeson’s resume is almost Goorjian-like: 5-time NBL champion with Perth and two-time NBL Coach of the Year. He was an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors between 2021-2023 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023-24.
• Andrej Lemanis: The head coach of the Altiri Chiba in the Japan B.League since 2021. Lemanis led the Brisbane Bullets back in the NBL after guiding the New Zealand Breakers to three titles between 2011 and 2013. He is a two-time NBL Coach of the Year (2012 and 2013) and former Australian Boomers Olympic Games head coach. The Boomers finished fourth in Rio in 2016. Lemanis’ place in Boomers history is assured after becoming the first Australian coach to lead the Boomers to a win against the US – 98-94 – in a World Cup warm-up in Melbourne in 2019.
• Shawn Dennis: The head coach of the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins in the Japan B.League since 2021. Dennis, 60, was the NBL Coach of the Year in 2016 at the Townsville Crocodiles. He started his coaching career as an assistant with the Newcastle Falcons in 1993. He became the head coach of the Shiga Lakestars in 2017 and has been in Japan ever since.
• Mick Downer: Longtime NBL assistant coach with the Cairns Taipans, Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers, also an assistant for the Boomers at the 2016 Olympic Games under Andrej Lemanis. Has been a head coach in the NZNBL and moved to the Japanese B League a few years ago as an assistant coach for the Akita Northern Happiness, where he was promoted to head coach, leading a team featuring former NBL stars such as Keanu Pinder and Yanni Wetzell.
• Kerry Williams: An assistant coach at the Cairns Taipans. Williams, a rising star, is the head coach of the Indigenous All-Stars and head coach of the Cairns Marlins in the NBL1 North Conference. He is entrenched in the growth of basketball in Far North Queensland.
• Luke Cann: An assistant coach at the Adelaide 36ers. He was an assistant at the Brisbane Bullets between 2023 and 2025 and has steered the Logan Thunder NBL1 North Men’s Team to seven finals appearances. He took over the men’s team in 2017.
• Anthony Petrie: Gold Coast Rollers NBL1 North Men’s head coach. Petrie won the 2023 NBL1 North Men’s Coach of the Year after leading the Rollers to the NBL1 North title in 2022.
• Chase Buford: A two-time NBL championship coach with the Sydney Kings, and was then basketball.com.au columnist Andrew Bogut’s first choice recommendation for the Brisbane Bullets. The 37-year-old American is an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA.  
• Steve Woodberry: Played for the Brisbane Bullets between 1996 and 1999 and the Sydney Kings in 2000. Word is that American Woodberry, who is an assistant coach at Missouri State in the NCAAM, is interested in returning to Australia. Woodberry won the League MVP in 1999.
• Darryl McDonald: The interim head coach of the Brisbane Bullets, is highly unlikely to win the gig permanently, but that doesn’t mean D-Mac is out of the race for a head coaching role in 2026-27.
• Greg Vanderjagt: Has been with the Brisbane Bullets since 2022 as an assistant, interim head coach, and head coach. Vanderjagt led the Under-16 Australian Crocs to the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in September 2025 before returning to serve under Stu Lash.
• Andrew Bogut: An assistant coach with the Sydney Kings. Bogut is part of Brian Goorjian’s coaching staff and is learning from the best in the business. A head coaching role is only a matter of time for a member of the Australian basketball royal family.
• Rob Beveridge: Former head coach of West Sydney Razorbacks, Sydney Spirit, Illawarra Hawks and Perth Wildcats - where he won a title in 2010. Also famously led the u19 Emus to the World Championship gold medal in 2003. That team featured stars such as Andrew Bogut and Damian Martin.
• Robbie McKinlay: Head coach at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (CoE). McKinlay started his coaching career in 2006 at Augusta State University before becoming an assistant coach at the NBA’s Global Academy in 2017. He’s been the CoE head coach since 2021.
• Damian Cotter: An assistant coach at Josh Giddey’s Chicago Bulls. Cotter started his coaching career in 2000 at Knox, joined the NSW Institute of Sport in 2007, and the Sydney Kings in 2013 as an assistant coach, becoming the head coach in 2014, before moving to the US and the Long Island Nets in 2017.
• Sam Mackinnon: NBL legend coaching Taranaki Airs in New Zealand. Mackinnon, 49, became an assistant coach with the Brisbane Bullets upon their return in 2017, was named the interim head coach of the Bullets in 2022, moved to the South East Melbourne Phoenix in 2023, and was named the interim head coach in 2024 before the Phoenix hired now SAFE as houses Josh King.
• Jason Cadee: A 400-game NBL veteran and basketball.com.au contributor, retired last season and is a natural to move to the bench in a coaching role. He doesn’t know he’s made our list, but he has a high-IQ basketball mind and can easily follow in his father's footsteps, who coached the Australian Opals from 1986 to 1992 after winning the 1983 NBL Coach of the Year award. (We hope he stays with us)
• Aaron Fearne: NBL Coach of the Year in 2015 at the Cairns Taipans, and is now the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers in NCAA Men’s Division 1. He was an assistant with the Taipans from 2001 to 2009, the head coach of the Marlins from ‘06 to ‘09, and then the head coach of the Taipans from ‘09 to 2018.

National Coaches

Australian Boomers

Adam Caporn is as SAFE as houses. He won the FIBA Men’s Asia Cup championship and has the backing of the Boomers players. His appointment was somewhat of a shock within the basketball community, but he’s proven himself to be the right man to lead the Boomers into the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. His challenge will be to manage expectations given the NBA talent he’ll have at his disposal at both tournaments. Six-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton revealed to Jason Cadee on Cut to the Jase that he had spoken to Caporn about the 2028 Olympic Games.

Australian Opals

Sandy Brondello is as SAFE as houses. There are few more credentialed coaches in world basketball than Brondello, both internationally and in the WNBA. Brondello led the Opals to a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the New York Liberty to the WNBA championship in the same year. She is now the head coach of the WNBA expansion franchise, Toronto Tempo and will lead the Opals to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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