Sports
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever championship timeline accelerated by sudden coaching change
History will say that a new era for the Indiana Fever began on April 15, 2024.
That, of course, was the night that the franchise, which had yearned for any semblance of recent success, drafted Caitlin Clark No. 1. In an instant, everything changed.
Another date — one six months later — will now mark a nearly as significant moment. Oct. 27, 2024, will be sign-posted as the day in which the Fever officially parted ways with head coach Christie Sides after only two seasons. The Clark era is still here, but the franchise’s direction changed.
Kelly Krauskopf, the recently hired Fever president of basketball operations, seemed to say as much in her statement regarding Sides’ dismissal. Sides was hired by Lin Dunn, who moved into an advisory role after the 2024 season. Sides went 33-47 in two years. Krauskopf referred to Sides’ tenure as an “integral transition period.”
Krauskopf added, “It is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana.”
Bold and assertive. Those two words appear to define the Fever’s new path. They are no longer transitioning. They are thinking big.
We have parted ways with head coach Christie Sides.
More: https://t.co/eBb0wRuBlF pic.twitter.com/Ja5S3uGPOb
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 27, 2024
Even with Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston leading the franchise, the goal for last season was to make the playoffs. Dunn was clear about her desires to snap a seven-year drought. Clearly now, after Clark’s record-setting rookie season, expectations are much higher. The Fever are eyeing their first title since 2012.
A transcendent star accelerates timelines.
In the NBA, LeBron James’ first head coach (Paul Silas) oversaw just the first season-and-a-half of James’ time in Cleveland. Michael Jordan’s first coach (Kevin Loughery) was with MJ for only one year. In the WNBA, Candace Parker’s first professional coach (Michael Cooper) lasted just two seasons with the star forward. Same with Diana Taurasi’s first coach, Carrie Graf. Dunn drafted and coached Sue Bird during Bird’s first season out of UConn. But by Bird’s second year, Anne Donovan paced the Storm sideline.
Add Sides to the list of coaches who were hired for a developmental job, thrown into another and were made a casualty as a result.
The Fever are led by Clark. But with Sunday’s decision, they are Krauskopf’s franchise, too. Krauskopf initially led the team from 2000 until 2018, when she left to become the Pacers assistant general manager and the first woman in NBA history to hold an executive basketball management role. She previously made the postseason 13 times and played in three WNBA finals in seven years, including capturing the 2012 WNBA title. A desire to replicate those successes is why she has returned.
Familiarity seems like it will matter in Indiana’s coaching search. That might mean trying to poach current Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White for another reunion. According to the Chicago Sun Times, White is still under contract with the Sun but had recent talks with the Fever about the head coaching role.
Krauskopf and White know each other well. White, an Indiana native and Purdue alum, played for the Fever from 2000 to 2004. She was then an assistant coach from 2011 to 2014 and later coached the Fever in 2015 and 2016.
Now widely regarded as one of the league’s top coaches, she has experience and achieved recent success as she installed a new offense in Connecticut. She won Coach of the Year in 2023, led the Fever to the 2015 finals and has drawn greatness out of stars such as Tamika Catchings and Alyssa Thomas. She would likely, in Krauskopf’s words, “maximize” Indiana’s talent, which is also expected to target veterans in free agency to pair with Clark and Boston.
There were obvious needs for improvement under Sides. Defense and diversifying Clark’s shot efficiency are two of the growth areas for the next coach to tackle.
But the Fever’s decision to part with Sides seems less about the player-coach relationship and more about what Krauskopf thinks can happen with a player (Clark) leading the way. Sides and Clark regularly discussed strategy as well as how Clark was handling pressure on and off the court. As last season progressed, Clark became a more effective shooter and driver, and the Fever won nine of 14 games after the All-Star break while Clark went on to lead them to the playoffs and win Rookie of the Year. Krauskopf even applauded Sides for this progress.
When Dunn was hired as GM, she said she wanted to get out of the lottery by her third season. She did that. Now under Krauskopf, no longer are lottery parties acceptable. Championship celebrations are the goal.
Clark and the Fever will be playing under a new coach and general manager (Amber Cox) next spring. The Fever are done experimenting.
A star has again accelerated a championship timeline. And a coach again paid the price.
(Photo of Christie Sides and Caitlin Clark: Elsa / Getty Images)
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Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Nyier Daniels was kicked off the team on Monday following his arrest on multiple charges resulting from a high-speed police chase, coach Kirby Smart said.
Daniels was arrested Sunday and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Georgia. He was charged with three felonies, including fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and 10 misdemeanor charges.
Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Nyier Daniels (79) blocks against Georgia outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson (33) during the Georgia Spring game at Sanford Stadium on April 12, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
The other felonies against Daniels were two counts of cruelty to children because his two younger siblings were in his vehicle at the time, officials said. The misdemeanor charges included reckless driving and speeding.
He reportedly reached speeds of 100 mph in a 25-mph zone in Commerce and 150 mph when the chase continued on Interstate 85.
“I have not had a chance to talk to him or his family, but obviously he’ll no longer be with us,” Smart said.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Charlotte, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Athens, Georgia. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Brandi Canada Green, Daniels’ mother, was also arrested after she allegedly drove another vehicle that became involved in the chase. She faces a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, as well as a misdemeanor charge of willful obstruction of law enforcement.
Capt. Cole Edwards said in the police report that he asked Daniels why he fled and Daniels responded “he did not want his mother to get a ticket.”
Daniels was able to get away from the police, but was arrested after officers learned he was a Georgia player and contacted team coaches, who provided assistance, according to an incident report.
Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Nyier Daniels (79) in the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Georgia Bulldogs on Aug. 30, 2025, at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Daniels was listed as a redshirt freshman and appeared in three games this season. He played in the Bulldogs’ 35-3 win over Charlotte on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
CITY SECTION
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
At Birmingham High
DIVISION III
#2 Hawkins (10-2) vs. #1 Santee (9-4), 2 p.m.
DIVISION II
#2 San Fernando (10-3) vs. #1 Cleveland (5-8), 6 p.m.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
At Southwest College
DIVISION I
#5 Marquez (11-2) vs. #2 South Gate (10-3), 2 p.m.
OPEN DIVISION
#6 Crenshaw (10-1) vs. #1 Carson (8-3), 6 p.m.
SOUTHERN SECTION
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
DIVISION 1
Santa Margarita (9-3) vs. Corona Centennial (11-1) at Rose Bowl
DIVISION 3
Oxnard Pacifica (13-0) at Palos Verdes (10-3)
DIVISION 7
Barstow (9-3) at Apple Valley (9-4)
DIVISION 8
Beckman (10-3) at Brea Olinda (10-3)
DIVISION 12
Santa Paula (8-5) at Grace (10-3)
DIVISION 13
Woodbridge (5-8) at Montebello (7-6)
DIVISION 14
South El Monte (9-4) at Pioneer (7-6)
8-MAN
DIVISION 1
Flintridge Prep (9-0) at Cornerstone Christian (11-0)
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
DIVISION 2
Los Alamitos (11-2) at San Clemente (9-4)
DIVISION 4
La Habra (10-3) at San Jacinto (10-3)
DIVISION 5
Rio Hondo Prep (13-0) at Redondo Union (9-4)
DIVISION 6
Ventura (11-2) at St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy (7-6)
DIVISION 9
Ramona (11-2) at Cerritos Valley Christian (10-3)
DIVISION 10
Tahquitz (10-3) at Hillcrest (8-5)
DIVISION 11
Baldwin Park (8-5) at Valley View (8-5)
8-MAN
DIVISION 2
Lancaster Baptist (9-3) at Cate (5-7), 1 p.m.
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The Seattle Seahawks came away with their eighth win of the season on Sunday, and once again, it was star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing a large role in the victory.
This time, though, Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leader in receiving yards, made some Seahawks history in the process.
The second-year receiver out of Ohio State set the single-season franchise record for receiving yards after totaling 167 in the 30-24 victory.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans in the game at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Coming into the game, Smith-Njigba needed 150 yards to break D.K. Metcalf’s record of 1,303, which he set in 2020. After Sam Darnold found his favorite target for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, it was not only another deep touchdown connection between the two, but it made it quite possible that Smith-Njigba would break Metcalf’s record in just his 11th game of the season.
Smith-Njigba later reached the yardage needed in the third quarter, and that total is only expected to grow with six games left in the regular season.
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It was clear that Smith-Njigba was going to be a great receiver in the league when he tallied 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns during his rookie campaign in 2024. But with a new quarterback in Darnold — Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason — there were questions entering the year about whether the offense would look the same.
Darnold has proven to be the right fit for Klint Kubiak’s offense, and Smith-Njigba has set a new career high in touchdowns and appears poised to shatter his receptions total as well.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
It’s worth noting that Metcalf was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, partly due to Smith-Njigba’s emergence as a top pass-catching option during his rookie season.
The Seahawks also announced that Smith-Njigba has moved into the league record books. He now has the fifth-most receiving yards through the first 11 games of a season in the Super Bowl era, passing the great Julio Jones on that list.
No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans’ offense made things interesting late, as Chimere Dike caught a touchdown to bring them within six points in the fourth quarter. But Seattle’s defense, which has been a solid unit all season, came through in the end.
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Smith-Njigba finished the game with two touchdowns for Seattle, while Zach Charbonnet added a rushing score for the Seahawks.
Smith-Njigba will look to add to his single-season total next Sunday when the Seahawks return home to host the Minnesota Vikings.
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