Phoenix Mercury fires head coach Vanessa Nygaard

The Phoenix Mercury fired head coach Vanessa Nygaard the team announced Sunday. The team has a five-game losing streak and sits at 2-10.

The team hired Nygaard on January 24, 2002. She compiled a 17-30 regular season record in two seasons.

“We have chosen to make a change at head coach,” said Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman.  “We thank Vanessa Nygaard for the way she endured and managed the adversity of the last year-plus.  Our organization and our fans have high expectations for this team, and we have not reached those with our performance this year.  We have confidence in the job Nikki Blue will do as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023 season.”

The Mercury host the Dallas Wings Tuesday, June 27 at the Footprint Center. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports. The teams have met twice so far this season, both times in Dallas with the Wings taking both contests.