PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury's head coach, Vanessa Nygaard, is out.
The team announced on Sunday that they were "parting ways" with Nygaard, and elevating their lead assistant coach, Nikki Blue, to the position for the rest of the season.
“We have chosen to make a change at head coach,” said Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman in a press release from the team.
“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.”
Blue joined the Mercury coaching staff in 2022 and has a combined 15 years of coaching experience in the WNBA and collegiate ranks.
Nygaard was hired as Mercury head coach in Jan. 2022. The Mercury are currently 2-10.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
12 Sports
Stay up-to-date on the latest Arizona sports stories with 12News.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
