Mike Tirico predicts female NBA head coach in near future: ‘It will be because of Popovich’

Mike Tirico believes a woman will get hired as an NBA head coach. And when it happens, Tirico thinks Gregg Popovich will deserve some credit.

Friday, May 2 marked the end of an era in the NBA. After 29 seasons as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Popovich announced he was stepping down from the role to focus on being team president. But Tirico believes Popovich’s coaching tenure will soon lead to a new era in the NBA, one that will see a team hire a woman as their head coach.

Tirico joined the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams Friday morning on FanDuel TV to preview the Kentucky Derby, which he hosts for NBC. And during the interview, Adams asked the forthcoming voice of the NBA on NBC about Popovich moving to the front office full-time.

“If you ever want to see a couple of minutes that make you want to tear up, watch Becky Hammon’s Hall-of-Fame speech where she talks about Gregg Popovich,” Tirico said. “It’s so dang cool. And we’re gonna see, at some point, a woman coach an NBA team. And it will be because of the leap of faith Gregg Popovich made.

“Jenny Boucek, who is an assistant coach on the front bench with Rick Carlisle in Indiana, she could very well be that individual. Whenever it does happen, it will be because of Pop and his confidence in people who are smart and can do it. That’s one of the legacies of that man that will last forever.”

Immediately following the news that Popovich was stepping down, Jay Williams was quick to suggest Becky Hammon as his successor. The Spurs, however, already announced interim head coach Mitch Johnson as Popovich’s full-time replacement. But that doesn’t change the fact that the NBA is clearly on track to have a woman head coach in the near future.

Lisa Boyer was the first woman assistant coach in NBA history nearly a quarter-century ago, joining John Lucas’ staff with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2001. Boyer, however, was a volunteer assistant after internal opposition prevented Lucas from making her a paid member of his coaching staff.

13 years later, Popovich made Hammon the first full-time woman assistant coach in the NBA. And on Dec. 30, 2020, Hammon briefly made her head coaching debut, taking over for Popovich after he was ejected from a game.

While it wasn’t long ago that the idea of a women head coach in the NBA was scoffed at, the league is now more universally recognized as being on that path. It’s been a slow path, but a woman will eventually become the head coach of an NBA team. And as Tirico noted, Popovich will deserve some credit for helping to break that barrier.