The Golden State Warriors confirmed Steve Kerr’s return to the franchise after the four-time NBA Champion head coach’s contract expired at the end of the 2025-26 season. Kerr considered stepping away and retiring, but agreed to sign a two-year extension to return to the franchise to continue overseeing the team with Stephen Curry as his star player.
The Warriors are a long way removed from the dynasty Kerr led in the late-2010s, but they still have the Curry and Draymond Green duo to rely on. Kerr wants to see out the final years of this era before all three inevitably have to move on, with the Warriors expected to make major moves in the 2026 offseason to return to contention.
Kerr’s first press conference back after signing his extension led to the 60-year-old coach revealing how one comment from his wife made him reconsider any potential decision to leave Golden State, as he would never get the opportunity to lead this franchise again if he chose to leave now.
“My wife said something, she said, ‘You might coach again someday, but you’ll never coach the Warriors again.’ And that was really meaningful to me, because I love this team, I love the players. That struck me. I couldn’t imagine walking away from the Warriors. At that point, it really was about, ‘What do you want to do?’ We had great meetings, and over the course of a week, we all agreed, let’s do it. So, here I am.”
Kerr has a 604-353 (63.1% winning percentage) record as the Warriors’ head coach, leading them to six NBA Finals and four championship wins. While many try to discredit his title wins in 2015, 2017, and 2018 due to the strength of the Warriors roster compared to the Cleveland Cavaliers teams they faced, his title with the 2022 Warriors cemented Kerr as one of the best coaches of the modern era.
Kerr also opened up on the larger reasons that influenced his decision to continue as Warriors head coach, including conversations with the team and his wife and an internal realization of how much he loves leading the franchise in this role.
“I couldn’t be more excited to continue in this job. We had a great process the last few weeks of just trying to figure this out, together, collaboratively. I don’t think this actually happens in pro sports, honestly, where you have these kinds of conversations and genuinely try to figure out what the right thing is.”
“I’m very lucky to be in this organization and work with the people that I do. It truly is a partnership, and we’re trying to do the best thing for the franchise. We literally spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out if the best thing for this franchise was me coming back. I took about a week to think about whether it was the right thing for me, and my wife and I spoke every day about it.”
“Bottom line was, I still love what I do, which is what I told you guys throughout the season. I love coaching, I love being a part of the Warriors, and I decided to keep doing this if the Warriors want me to keep doing this.”
Kerr led the Warriors to a 37-45 record last season, with the franchise losing Jimmy Butler in January 2026 to an ACL tear. Curry played just 43 games this season as well, explaining why the team was not competitive enough for a Playoff appearance.
But with plenty of potentially roster-altering trades they can make this offseason, it seems the franchise will be back competing among the best next season.
