The Portland Fire are set to name Alex Sarama as the franchise’s first head coach in the coming days.
The news of Sarama’s hire was mistakenly shared on the Fire’s LinkedIn account early Tuesday morning before being quickly deleted. Multiple sources confirmed to Front Office Sports that while no contract has been finalized, Sarama is expected to be announced as the Fire’s coach.
Sarama spent the last 15 months with the Cleveland Cavaliers as an assistant coach. Prior to the Cavaliers, Sarama was an assistant coach and director of player development for the Portland Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.
Local outlet The Portland Supporter was the first to report the team’s social media miscue. In June, the team’s name was prematurely leaked in trademark filings.
The Fire, an expansion franchise set to begin playing next year, will become the latest franchise to tap an NBA assistant as head coach when Sarama’s deal is finalized. Following the 2023 WNBA season, the Phoenix Mercury hired longtime NBA assistant Nate Tibbetts. This season Tibbetts led the Mercury to the WNBA Finals where they were swept by the Las Vegas Aces, another franchise that went the NBA route to fill their head coach position.
The Aces hired Becky Hammon in December of 2021. After a 16-year playing career in the WNBA, Hammon spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. Hammon interviewed for several head coaching positions in the NBA before she was hired by the Aces. Hammon has led the Aces to three WNBA titles in four seasons.
Following the Aces 2025 WNBA title, owner Mark Davis was asked if it was time to make Hammon the highest paid coach in the WNBA. His response: “Oh, she’s not?”
When Tibbetts was hired he was reportedly the highest paid coach in the league, according to ESPN, earning upwards of $1 million annually.
The Fire hired Vanja Černivec as general manager in August after she spent a year as the Golden State Valkyries’ vice president of basketball operations during the team’s inaugural season. Černivec and Sarama spent a year together working for the London Lions, a professional basketball club competing in the British Basketball League; Černivec was the general manager of the Lions for the two years prior to being hired by the Valkyries.
Sarama worked as the Lions’ director of methodology from 2023 to 2024.
