Townsville Fire coach Shannon Seebohm makes massive call on WNBA future

The two-time WNBL coach of the year has made a major future commitment for his future, with rammifications to be felt by the Opals and WNBA.

Australia's coach Shannon Seebohm. Picture: Andy Cheung / AFP

Shannon Seebohm will become the longest-tenured coach in Townsville Fire history after signing a monster extension to remain in North Queensland through the end of the 2026-27 season.

The two-time WNBL coach of the year has committed his future to the city, insisting national honours and the allure of the WNBA could wait.

“Those things are always out there, and I have goals, but I’m not someone that sits around looking to jump to my next thing,” Seebohm said.

“I really want to sink my teeth in here and if something comes in the future, I’ll obviously look at that when the time is right.

“Right now my dream is to coach the Townsville Fire and hopefully bring more championships here to Townsville.

“Whatever the future holds it holds, but in the career I’ve chosen you don’t often get a lot of security.

“Not many coaches make it to the end of their first contact let alone have the opportunity like I’ve been fortunate enough to have not only one extension but now to sign a second.

“I really want to stick around here and try to build something special.”

Foundation coach David Herbert spent six seasons in charge of the Fire without a championship, while Chris Lucas won three titles in a five-season stint between 2011 and 2016.

Seebohm is entering his fourth season with two grand final appearances, two coach of the year awards and the 2022-23 WNBL trophy.

The 35-year-old was adamant his goal was to keep the Fire in a position to challenge for more silverware every year of his extended deal.

“I want us to be the best team in the WNBL consistently,” Seebohm said.

“I’m a realist and I know that doesn’t mean win the championship every year, but we want to be in a position where we can compete for that every single season.

“I really want us to be known as the premier club in terms of developing players and helping players, coaches and staff go to their next big thing.”

With the popular coach’s presence secured for the next four seasons, Fire general manager Sam Pascoe said attention would now turn to retaining key players on multi-year deals to ride the wave with Seebohm.

“We have a few of our players who this upcoming season is the last of their multi-year,” Pascoe said.

“We’ll probably take our time and see how we get into pre-season and then start looking at those discussions of any contract extensions that we may start discussing prior to the season.

“Knowing who their coach would be was definitely their No.1 priority and we’ll look to have those discussions as we go.

“We’re very fortunate that our core has remained predominantly the same for the last years, like Courtney Woods and Steph Reid, and it is players like that we find really important for the club.”

Pascoe said the club was delighted to extend the “best coach in the league.”

Originally published as Townsville Fire coach Shannon Seebohm makes massive call on WNBA future