The Washington Mystics have hired Sydney Johnson as their next head coach and Jamila Wideman as their general manager as Washington is set to usher in a new era of leadership this offseason.
The decision to hire both Johnson and Wideman came after Washington parted ways with both coach Eric Thibault and his father, Mystics general manager Mike Thibault, in October. Mike joined the franchise ahead of the 2013 season as its coach/general manager and led the Mystics to their first title in 2019, while Eric had been Washington’s head coach the last two years after previously spending a decade as an assistant coach.
Johnson comes to Washington after serving as an assistant coach with the Chicago Sky last season. Before that he was the associate head coach of the men’s basketball team at the United States Air Force Academy and the head coach of the Fairfield men’s program from 2011-2019, leading them to four postseason appearances. Johnson has also long been involved with USA Basketball, and most recently served as the head coach of Team USA’s 3×3 women’s AmeriCup team, which took silver at the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in Puerto Rico this fall. Washington hired a search firm to identify prospective candidates.
“As a team, we will carry the core values that drive this franchise…
