Dawn Staley doesn't think the NBA will hire a woman coach in her lifetime after interviewing for Knicks job

Ariel Simpson, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 14, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — Dawn Staley has become a force in women’s basketball — from her three gold medals as a player to her three national titles as South Carolina’s coach.

So it should come as no surprise that the Hall of Famer from North Philly would want to expand her legacy as a trailblazer and be a head coach in the NBA. However, Staley doesn’t think the league is ready to make such a historic hire — yet.

When the coach was asked about the possibility of an NBA team having a female head coach during SEC media day on Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala., she responded: “No, I don’t [believe it will happen in my lifetime]. And I hope I’m wrong.”

This summer, Staley interviewed for the New York Knicks’ top job before they hired Mike Brown. Staley, who said Tuesday that she took the interview because of personal connections to the Knicks front office, said she would have left South Carolina for the position had she gotten the offer, but that never happened — and she has a theory as to why.

In an episode of the Post Moves podcast with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston, Staley said the interview went well, but she believes she may have cost herself the job by asking follow-up questions regarding the impact the hire would have on the organization.

“How, if you hired me as the first female [head] coach in the NBA, would it impact your daily job? Because it would,” Staley said she told Knicks brass. “You’re going to be asked questions that you don’t have to answer if you’re a male coach. There’s going to be the media and all this other stuff that you have to deal with that you didn’t have to deal with and don’t have to deal with when you hire a male. That got them to thinking, ‘Maybe she’s right.’

“And I felt the energy change after that. So I shot myself in the foot by being inquisitive and asking all those darn questions.”

Becoming the first female head coach in NBA history would bring a lot more attention to the organization. Staley believes everything would be looked at under a microscope.

“If I’m the Knicks coach and you have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak,” Staley said Tuesday. “It’s going to be about being a female coach. So you, as an organization and a franchise, you have to be prepared for that and strong enough to endure those types of instances when you’re going to look to hire a female coach.”

However, she’ll be ready for the challenge when the opportunity presents itself — and wants to make sure any other female coaches are equally prepared.

“If there is somebody that is interested in knowing and interested in being the first female NBA coach, I’ve got all the information,” Staley said. “Come see me, because I’ll get you prepared for the interview. And if there are NBA franchises interested in hiring a female, I’m here too, because you’ve got to be ready to take on that and all the things that it comes with.”