New Wings coach drops mic with bold claim that fans will love

The Dallas Wings are heading into the 2026 WNBA season with renewed optimism following a disappointing 2025 season. They drafted Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and then strengthened the roster with positions of need in Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard via free agency. In fact, new Wings head coach Jose Fernandez believes it’s new era in Dallas, as per WNBA reporter Dorothy J. Gentry.

“We’re here, baby!” Fernandez exclaimed following a recent practice. “We are here.”

That’s certainly what Wings fans want to hear, but saying it and actually performing on the court are two different things. The Wings finished last season tied with the Chicago Sky for the worst overall record in the WNBA at 10-34.

After only one season, the Wings opted to fire head coach Chris Koclanes and replaced him with Jose Fernandez. Fernandez arrives having spent the last 25 years as head coach at South Florida. He turned the Bulls into one of the most successful mid major programs in the country, regularly reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Fernandez now inherits a Wings core that looks solid on paper. The 2025 Rookie of the Year and franchise player Paige Bueckers is in place, and the Wings also brought back perennial All-Star Arike Ogunbowale in free agency. It will be interesting to see if the team employs a lineup of Bueckers, Ogunbowale and Fudd all at once this season.

The Wings have missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, but are not that far removed from when they went 22-18 and advanced to the WNBA Semifinals.

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