The first round of the NBA playoffs is underway, and the Golden State Warriors are taking a rest for the first time in months after seeing their season end last Friday against the Phoenix Suns in the Play-In Tournament. However, that doesn't mean major news isn't arriving out of the Bay Area.
Most notably, there is swirling discussion among media members, fans, players, and even Steve Kerr himself about his uncertain future as coach of the Warriors.
Kerr's contract, a two-year extension he signed in 2024, expired at the end of this season. Thus, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr, owner Joe Lacob, and the rest of the Warriors' front office have a decision to make: will they keep Kerr around for another contract, or is it time to part ways with the four-time champion and 12-year head coach?
Kerr's Chances Of Returning Rumored To Be Low
On Tuesday, NBC Sports Bay Area's Warriors Insider, Monte Poole, reported that Steve Kerr is "not expected to return" as the head coach of the Warriors, barring "renewed faith."
Specifically, Poole describes that as a renewed faith for Kerr in his role as the franchise shifts towards the future.
Kerr was reportedly seeing this 2025-26 season as a last hurrah of sorts, and Poole said he was "mentally prepared for the 2025-26 NBA season to close his 12-year tenure as head coach of the Warriors."
With the roster that was assembled, fit with older veterans and players on one-year deals, it was clear the Warriors were gearing up for a do-or-die season. With all of the injuries that occurred, though, nothing promising ever materialized.
Thus, Poole reported that the "widespread belief is (Kerr) is uninterested in an encore to what he hoped would be an encore."
Additionally, Poole gave more specifics on The Dubs Talk Podcast with NBC Sports.
"If I had to put odds on Steve coming back, the chance of him coming back are like 15, 20%. I think the likelihood is that he leaves. At this stage, I would say, if the door is over there, he's looking at that door and he's walking toward it ... Can he turn around and turn back? Yeah, but the odds of that are slim. I'd be more surprised if he's back than if he leaves."
Kerr's Dominant Run May Be At It's End
If this is the end for Steve Kerr as the coach of the Warriors, then it'll finish as one of the greatest coaching tenures not just for the Warriors, but in the history of the NBA.
Kerr's resume includes four championships in six trips to the Finals, a Coach of the Year award, the NBA record for most wins in a single regular season, and an astonishingly high placement on all-time wins and win percentage lists for both the regular season and postseason.
Especially when considering some of the injuries the Warriors have dealt with in the back half of his tenure, Kerr was coaching a dynasty and keeping it together for maybe even longer than some expected.