Warriors, Steve Kerr
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Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors directs his players during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Chase Center on January 11, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
The Golden State Warriors reportedly don’t expect to have Steve Kerr back as head coach for the 2026-27 season.
According to The Ringer’s Logan Murdock, Kerr’s assistant coaches are operating under the assumption that the 2025-26 season will be his last with the franchise.
“Though Kerr has publicly been mum about his future, multiple assistant coaches have been operating under the premise that he will not return next season, according to team sources, with some surveying the league to secure jobs next season,” Murdock reported, while analyzing the fallout of Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL tear.
Kerr signed a two-year extension worth $35M with the Warriors in Feb. 2024, making him the highest-paid head coach in NBA history by average annual value.
Warriors to Hire a New Coach?
Entering the 2025-26 season, Kerr was very candid in admitting that he has a “year-to-year” approach to his coaching future with the franchise.
“At this point, just year to year,” Kerr said after the 2024-25 season. “…I love my job. But I know where the team is. I know where the organization is. So I’m perfectly comfortable going year by year at this point.”
It was previously believed that the Warriors and Kerr would come to terms on a one-year extension, so his contract could be aligned with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green — all of whom can become free agents in 2027.
If Kerr does exit after the 2025-26 season, he’d have delivered four championships and countless memories to the Warriors fanbase. Kerr completely reshaped the Warriors offense when he took over from Mark Jackson in the 2014-15 season, specifically turning Curry into more of an off-ball threat than a traditional point guard.
Steve Kerr Has Drawn Criticism
Kerr was also instrumental in implementing the small-ball lineups that encouraged the concept of players switching one through five on defense, an idea that teams around the league seemingly adopted from the Warriors to varying degrees of success.
However, Kerr has also received a lot of criticism in recent years, specifically for his alleged failure to develop Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, James Wiseman and Brandin Podziemski into quality NBA players.
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has squarely blamed Kerr for Golden State’s future looking grim after the 2026-27 season.
“Steve Kerr is the problem. Period,” Perkins said on the “Road Trippin'” podcast.
“Think about this: The Warriors are the only team, in my opinion, when you talk about teams that are trying to compete for a title, right? Think about all the teams around the league. Not only like you look at the Pistons, OKC, San Antonio, right? Think about it. All those guys, all those organizations, are set up for the now and the future,” Perkins added. “The Warriors? The future? What future? It’s no future.”
The Warriors are widely expected to usher in a new era after the 2026-27 season when they’re projected to have in excess of $100M in cap space. Perhaps their next chapter will begin under a new coach and possibly a new franchise star.