Dawn Staley Says NBA Isn't Ready For A Female Head Coach

Dawn Staley doesn’t believe the NBA will actually hire a female head coach in her lifetime. But if the league is ready, she’s ready.

The South Carolina women’s basketball coach explained at SEC Media Day that she interviewed earlier this year for the New York Knicks job before the franchise hired Mike Brown. And while she entered the process with an open mind, she left with one overriding conclusion about the possibility of a female head coach in the NBA.

"No, I don’t [believe it will happen in my lifetime]," Staley said Tuesday. "And I hope I’m wrong."

Staley said she only agreed to the interview because of her long-standing relationships with Knicks president Leon Rose and senior adviser William Wesley. And she made clear to them that if they were going to hire her, they needed to be prepared — not just for basketball questions, but for a media frenzy that had nothing to do with X’s and O’s.

"If the Knicks have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak," Staley said. "It’s going to be about being a female coach. So you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to ignore those types of instances."

She's not wrong. If and when it happens, the first female head coach in a men's professional league is going to be under intense scrutiny, regardless of her qualifications. That is just a fact.

Dawn Staley Interviewed For Knicks Coaching Job

Staley has won three national championships at South Carolina and has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. Her credentials speak for themselves. 

Currently under contract through the 2029-30 season for $25.5 million, Staley is also the highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball.

Dawn Staley is in her 18th season as the women's basketball head coach at South Carolina.

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

She said she would’ve taken the Knicks job if offered, but she seems more than content with where she is. Still, she’s eager to help blaze the trail for whoever comes next.

"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 that are interested in hiring a female, I’m here, too, because you’ve got to be ready to take that on and all the things that it comes with — because it’s not just about hiring the first female coach."

Now in her 18th season at South Carolina, Staley’s team opens ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll.