Coaches changed, but the performance remained the same. Chicago Sky fans would like to forget these past couple of seasons, as they went from being genuine title contenders to the bottom feeders of the league. After flying high and making the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, they crashed in 2024. Their .325 winning percentage last season was the franchise’s worst since going 5-29 in its inaugural season in 2006. 

It seemed the only way they could go from there was up, but the Chicago Sky fans found out they can go lower. Under new coach Tyler Marsh, the team is currently 8-23 with a win percentage of 0.258. If they continue on this path, Marsh is set to break that unwanted record from last year. That beatdown from a point guard-less Indiana Fever side just made things much worse.  

Their only beacon of hope, Angel Reese, is sidelined with a nagging back injury. Her status is still uncertain, as she’s listed day-to-day, but even if their star does make a comeback, this team simply doesn’t have the firepower to take on the heavyweights in their league. The team has just 1 win in their last 11 games, and the games have been even more one-sided with Reese out. However, with this season all but over for the Sky, Marsh is still holding out some hope for improvement in the remaining season, and he expressed the need for urgency before their game against the Connecticut Sun.

Marsh told the media, “It’s not a time to give up. It’s not a time to slow down. We got to put our, our foot on the gas. Continue to stay as connected as possible, but most importantly, we just we need to play strong. We need to play tough moving down to this last stretch.” To the fans, currently, these are just empty words without any actual performance on the court, as they are campaigning for his removal as soon as possible. 

Chicago Sky Fans Have Had Enough Of Tyler Marsh

There is a noticeable gap between the Sky, Dallas Wings, and Connecticut Sun group and the rest of the teams. The Sky currently has the worst defensive rating in their history, and the offense isn’t any better. Their current offensive rating of 97.7 is their worst since 2012.  While the fans were receptive to rookie coach Tyler Marsh and his ideas, their patience has worn out as the season has unraveled. 

The Chicago Sky announced a giveaway of two free tickets for their game against the Golden State Valkyries, and a fan replied, “Keep the tickets.  Fire Jeff P and Tyler Marsh.” Marsh’s hiring has a lot to do with general manager Jeff Paglioca. “I heard you. I felt you. We delivered.” Pagliocca announced after introducing Marsh as their next leader. Jeff wanted Marsh ‘very badly’. But even at the time, Marsh seemed a dodgy hire as he had no head coaching experience. However, the fans went with it and supported the team and tried to find the positives of his past title-winning experience as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces. 

One fan echoed the frustration in a pop quiz for Sky players, bluntly commenting, “Ask the owners .. Why Jeff P and Tyler Marsh aren’t fired yet?” The performance is not the only issue, as the fans see the development of their star rookies from last year completely stalled. Angel Reese is doing everything to keep them afloat, while Kamilla Cardoso has been inconsistent at best. They need proper guidance from an experienced coach. Marsh is still trying to find his identity as a head coach, and his adjustment could come in the way of their development. 

Maybe, Marsh would be better with a team that already has the experience instead of starting from scratch. When it comes to Pagliocaa, it’s not only fans who are unhappy but also top analysts who point to his flaws as the Sky continue to falter.“Is he aware his team is losing a whole lot??? Man, we need change!!!” Wrote another fan after his latest pre-game interview. “Sure, everything in this seat kind of falls on you, and so it’s fine,” Marsh had said after their 2-6 start. And everything is falling on Marsh as their season has no way up from here. 

He has accepted responsibility for their consistent losses from time to time, but the performances have not changed, which makes everything he says sound like “Fluff fluff fluff” as another fan exclaimed, “No one asks the hard questions. No defense. No facilitation. Still Don’t have an identity yet. ? Season almost over.Their PR group is doing awful. Is 4 minute Uzun hurt ?? The passes given is nonsense.” 

The team has the second-worst defense in the league, which has cost them many games so far. They lost their prime facilitator in Courtney Vandersloot early in the season, but the team building comes into question. Was a 36-year-old point guard an end-all be-all in that position? Hailey Van Lith is looking undercooked, while Rachel Banham is doing all she can to provide the creativity. In spite of that, Angel Reese is currently their best assister, and when a forward is your best creator, things are not looking good. 

It’s clear, considering the outpouring calls to fire Jeff and Marsh, the fans are discontent with the team, to say the least. However,  the fans are not always right. We have seen coaches receiving hate from the fans, but they turn around once the wins start to come in. That’s the only thing that can turn the fans, some actual results on the court. It looks like Marsh will have at least the remainder of the season to work with this squad, and there’s still a chance for him to restore the team’s faith in his leadership.