10 Questions With Lin Dunn

1. When did you make the decision to step down from your position with the Storm?
There was not a specific time that the decision just hit me, but rather, it is something that I began thinking about before the season started. Making the playoffs actually made the decision a little easier because it was another goal we achieved and I wanted to move on after we had accomplished as much as possible.

2. What is the main reason that you decided to resign?
Everyone knows that Lin keeps her promises. Over the past three seasons in Seattle, I made a lot of professional and personal ones. I kept the professional ones, but did not get to a lot of the personal promises I made to my family, friends and myself. After the season was over, I decided that the time had come to make good on those promises.

3. Do the players know about your resignation? If so, what was their reaction?
Yes, the players all know. Before I announced my decision to the media, I made sure that all the players were contacted. Most of them were shocked and surprised, but they all understand and supported me and my decision because they know it is what’s best for me.

4. What do you plan to do now that you are done coaching the Storm?
I am going to do all the things I wanted to do in this wonderful city that I never had a chance to while I was coaching. First, I plan to take a floatplane up to the San Juan Islands. Then, I want to go kayaking on Lake Union. I also want to go to a Seahawks game at the new stadium and catch a Husky football game. I plan to be back home in Dresden, Tennessee, with my mother by Halloween. Who knows what I will do there, but I plan to do a lot of gardening and spending time with my family and friends.

5. Do you see coaching as part of your future?
I always plan to be a coach in one way or another because it is what I love to do. I have already heard from a lot of friends who want me to stop by their practices to help out. I also have a few clinics I am committed to. There are also a few school teams in Tennessee that I am going to help coach.

6. What about the promise to dye your hair if the Storm reached the playoffs?
I will keep that one too. But I am not going to do it with one of those kits out of a box that you buy at the drug store. I am going to go to a salon and have it done gradually so that my hair does not fall out. I have always wanted to be a strawberry blonde, so I am going to start with that and work my way red.

7. What will happen with the rest of your coaching staff?
I have never had such an outstanding assistant coaching staff as I did this last season with Gary Kloppenburg and Carrie Graf. We were always dedicated and on the same page. I have recommended to Billy McKinney, who will be heading the search for a new coach, that he seriously consider both Gary and Carrie as qualified candidates for the job.

8. Who will be the face of Storm basketball without Lin Dunn?
I had to be the face of the team when we didn’t have a logo or players. But now that we have some of the most talented players in the world on this team, they are the face of the team. I am talking about athletes like Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Kamila Vodichkova – they are the face of the Storm now and deservedly so.

9. What is your most enjoyable moment in building the Storm in the community?
There are so many memorable moments, from the drive to 5,500 before we even had a team to Fan Appreciation Night at the Key after we reached the playoffs, but the Stormin’ The Sound program sticks out in my mind. We traveled thousands of miles around this beautiful state spreading the Storm word. One of those trips to Tenino sticks out in my mind. Their gym was so small that the three-point line and center circle intersected, but their enthusiasm for what we were doing was amazing.

10. Is there anything you want to say to the Storm fans?
First, I want to thank Ginger Ackerley for bringing the WNBA to Seattle and Karen Bryant for helping the Storm grow to what it is today. I want to say thank you to everyone that ever came to a Storm game. But most importantly, I want to thank the founding Storm fans that bought season tickets in 1999, renewed in 2000 and then renewed in 2001. They are the fans that stuck with us and remained true to the playoff dream that we all did.