Steve Kerr was ready to step away from the Warriors after the 2025-26 season

Steve Kerr was ready to step away from the Warriors after the 2025-26 season originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Erik Spoelstra is the longest-tenured coach in the NBA at the moment, but the closest man to him is Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. As a four-time champion with the Warriors, Kerr will have a lasting legacy as a winner and as the man who helped Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green become perennial winners.

After the 2025-26 season concluded, there were rumors that Kerr was interested in stepping away from his role as head coach. However, that did not happen because Kerr agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Warriors during the Playoffs.

Steve Kerr was close to leaving the Warriors after the 2025-26 season

Kerr has a tremendous legacy in the NBA, dating back to his days as a player and even to his time as an executive. However, he will likely be best known for his coaching because he was the man in charge of one of the best teams of all time.

In fact, the 2017 and 2018 Warriors teams are arguably the best in BNA history. With the core trio of Curry, Green, and Thompson, they already had an unbelievable group, but it got even better when Kevin Durant entered the picture.

MORE: Stephen Curry has reportedly made up his mind to stay with the Warriors

Unfortunately for Kerr, he has struggled to lead the Warriors over the past few seasons. He managed to lead them to a championship in 2022, but since then, the Warriors have not been the biggest threat when it comes to the Western Conference. 

Amid all of those struggles, it seems Kerr was dealing with thoughts of possibly leaving the role. That did not happen because it seems Kerr was convinced to stay and lead the project.

“I had decided I was leaving with a week or two left in the regular season. I just thought that it was time; I could feel it. I didn’t say anything to anybody; it just felt like it. When the season ended, we all felt like we owed it to ourselves to give it a couple of weeks and let the emotions die down,” Kerr said on the Tom Tolbert Show.

“Over the next couple of weeks, we had three different meetings with Joe and Kirk Lacob and Mike Dunleavy. The four of us talked about the team and everything going forward, and we just came to a really good conclusion that we should keep it going.”

While it felt like Kerr was thinking of stepping away, it seems the conversations with the owners and his general manager truly convinced him to stay. Now, he is fired up for the 2026-27 season, and while the Warriors are not one of the favorites, they will likely make some noise.

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