About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Indiana Fever cleaned house in the front office on Friday.
First, Fever president and franchise architect Kelly Krauskopf, who built the Fever from the ground up in 1999, announced she was stepping down. Krauskopf was the Fever's president from 1999-2018, left to become an assistant general manager for the Pacers from 2018-24, then returned to the Fever in 2024.
The Fever then fired general manager Amber Cox, who first came to Indiana from Dallas in 2024, on Friday afternoon.
With Krauskopf and Cox at the helm of the front office, the Fever hoped to be championship contenders with their core of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, but they never rose to that level. Indiana finished as the No. 6 seed in both seasons under Krauskopf and Cox — matching their regular-season finish in 2024, when president Allison Barber and general manager Lin Dunn made up the front office — and did not get past the semifinals. The Fever made the WNBA semifinals through six season-ending injuries (including Clark's) in 2025 but couldn't make it past the first round with a healthy team in 2026.
With Krauskopf and Cox out, one question remains: What about their head coach?
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White calls out to her team Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, during the first half of Game 3 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. (Grace Smith/IndyStar) Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks to the referee on Tuesday during Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White watches the action during the first half of Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White watches the game against the Washington Mystics from the sideline at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. The Mystics defeated the Fever 93-77. (Christine Tannous/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 2/14/99. Stephanie White-McCarty, who plays during the start of the second half of her last Purdue home game, keeps calm under pressure applied by Ohio State UniversityÕs Lauren Shenk. (Robert Scheer Photo), scans 1, w/mckee story. (Robert Scheer / The Star) 3/23/99. PURDUE'S Stephanie White-McCarty celebrates with about a minute to go in the Boilermaker victory over Rutgers that will send them to the Final Four in San Jose CA. (Robert Scheer Photo) scans 1 w/story. Digital Transmit. AMPTESTtoArchive (ROBERT SCHEER, BOB SCHEER) Seeger's Stephanie White drives to the basket during a Lafayette Jeff Semistate game. (File/Journal & Courier) Stephanie White tearfully thanks her Seeger High School fans during a ceremony retiring her number Friday night at the West Lebanon school. White was last years Indiana Miss Basketball and the high school national player of the year. Fans yelled go Purdue to White near the end of the ceremony as she gets ready to start her regular season college career when her Boilermakers take on Kansas on November 26. (Frank Oliver, Copyright 1999 Lafayette Journal and Courier;Yes) Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White smiles Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, during exit interviews at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after the 2026 WNBA season. (Grace Smith/IndyStar) 1 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White calls out to her team Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, during the first half of Game 3 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. (Grace Smith/IndyStar) 1 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White calls out to her team Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, during the first half of Game 3 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. (Grace Smith/IndyStar) 2 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks to the referee on Tuesday during Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 3 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White watches the action during the first half of Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 4 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White watches the game against the Washington Mystics from the sideline at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. The Mystics defeated the Fever 93-77. (Christine Tannous/IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 5 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach 2/14/99. Stephanie White-McCarty, who plays during the start of the second half of her last Purdue home game, keeps calm under pressure applied by Ohio State UniversityÕs Lauren Shenk. (Robert Scheer Photo), scans 1, w/mckee story. (Robert Scheer / The Star) 6 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach 3/23/99. PURDUE'S Stephanie White-McCarty celebrates with about a minute to go in the Boilermaker victory over Rutgers that will send them to the Final Four in San Jose CA. (Robert Scheer Photo) scans 1 w/story. Digital Transmit. AMPTESTtoArchive (ROBERT SCHEER, BOB SCHEER) 7 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Seeger's Stephanie White drives to the basket during a Lafayette Jeff Semistate game. (File/Journal & Courier) 8 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Stephanie White tearfully thanks her Seeger High School fans during a ceremony retiring her number Friday night at the West Lebanon school. White was last years Indiana Miss Basketball and the high school national player of the year. Fans yelled go Purdue to White near the end of the ceremony as she gets ready to start her regular season college career when her Boilermakers take on Kansas on November 26. (Frank Oliver, Copyright 1999 Lafayette Journal and Courier;Yes) 9 / 9 Stephanie White: Miss Basketball, Purdue star, Fever player and coach Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White smiles Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, during exit interviews at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after the 2026 WNBA season. (Grace Smith/IndyStar) What we know about Stephanie White's future with the Indiana Fever Stephanie White remains the Indiana Fever's head coach for now, a source told IndyStar.
Krauskopf and Cox were the ones to lure White to Indianapolis in November 2024, hiring her away from the Connecticut Sun. White has gone 52-36 the past two years in her second stint coaching the Fever.
White had previous history with Krauskopf, especially, as Krauskopf was the one who gave White her first head-coaching opportunity with the Fever in 2015. White was an assistant coach on Dunn's 2012 championship-winning staff, then Krauskopf promoted her to head coach following Dunn's retirement.
White led the injury-laden Fever to the semifinals in 2025, pushing the eventual champion Aces to a decisive Game 5 before an overtime loss. Indiana didn't get as far in 2026, losing to the Aces in three games in the first round.
White has also had to put out multiple off-court fires throughout the 2026 season, including a video of her and Clark arguing on the bench that went viral in May , discussing Sophie Cunningham's comments on transgender women's participation in sports in July , and Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith calling for her resignation after fans perceived her as defending DiJonai Carrington after a hard foul on Cunningham in August.
White is the head coach for now, but anything can happen when a new front office comes in. It's not uncommon, both in the WNBA and in other sports leagues, for a general manager to want to bring in their own head coaching choice.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com . Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever clean house in front office. What does it mean for Stephanie White?
Source: Sports
0 Comments