By LiveWire Sports Media · Oct 24, 2026
The news
The Indiana Fever’s front office was cut in half in a single day. Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced that Kelly Krauskopf will step down as team president, closing a career of nearly three decades with PS&E in which she built the Fever from its founding, delivered the franchise’s first WNBA championship, and helped open doors for women across professional basketball.
Hours later, the Fever announced the departure of COO and general manager Amber Cox. The Associated Press and Bleacher Report describe it as a firing, with The Athletic’s Annie Costabile first to report it. Neither role has a named successor, and PS&E says it will “conduct a national search” for Cox’s replacement.
Two exits, two different words
The shorthand “both fired” is not what the record says, and the difference matters.
- Krauskopf: stepped down. The team says she made her decision and told leadership before the regular season ended. AP reports she had told the franchise during the season that she would leave once it ended. No outlet we read reports a firing.
- Cox: fired. AP, citing a person familiar with the move, and Bleacher Report describe a firing. The team’s own post says only: “We have announced the departure of COO and GM Amber Cox.” PS&E president and CEO Mel Raines said Cox “has helped us navigate the seismic growth of both the WNBA and our franchise.” No statement from Cox was included.
The records behind the exits
Krauskopf. She started in the WNBA as the league’s director of operations and joined the Fever before its inaugural 2000 season. She served as GM from 2000 to 2017 and built the team that won the 2012 WNBA championship. She spent six seasons as assistant GM of the Pacers, the first woman in NBA history in an executive basketball management role, and returned as Fever president in 2024. She led the practice facility project. Owner Herb Simon: she “built it, delivered a championship and came back when we needed her.” Krauskopf: it was “an honor and a privilege to help build and steward the Indiana Fever.” Caitlin Clark said the organization had a lot of respect for her and she would still be seen at games.
Cox. Hired in October 2024 as GM and COO, replacing Lin Dunn, who moved to an advisory role. Before that she was COO of the Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury and VP of sports for the Connecticut Sun. The Fever went 24-20 in 2025 and reached the semifinals; they went 28-16 this season and lost in the first round. Bleacher Report counts 52-36 over her tenure, two playoff trips, and one series win (2025 first round over Atlanta), with Las Vegas eliminating them both years. Cox was the Fever’s fourth GM since 2018.
Why now
Reported: Krauskopf’s timeline was set before the season ended, so her exit is a planned handoff. The Cox firing came hours later. No outlet we read states the reason for it; the team did not give one.
The pressure points (reported):
- A playoff exit. A 28-16 season ended in the first round.
- Roster construction. CBS Sports reports that Krauskopf and Cox faced criticism for not building a better team around Clark, Aliyah Boston and Mitchell. The same report cites an $800K cap hit each for Monique Billings and Lexie Hull from last offseason’s deals.
- A defense near the bottom of the league in several key metrics, per Yahoo Sports, alongside a historically strong offense.
- The calendar. Mitchell’s free agency and Clark’s extension both come due now, and the practice facility opens in March.
LiveWire read: The likeliest reading is that ownership wants one clean reset before those decisions, with the new leaders choosing the roster. That is inference. The reason for the Cox decision has not been reported.
The replacements
Known: PS&E will “conduct a national search” for Cox’s replacement. No names have been reported for either the GM job or the president job, and none of the articles we read names an interim GM.
Not known: whether the president role is refilled as one job (basketball and business, as Krauskopf held it), whether it is split, who runs basketball operations in the meantime, and whether coach Stephanie White stays. Bleacher Report sidebar headlines suggest the team is likely to keep White, but those are teasers, not reporting in the article.
What a national search signals (LiveWire opinion): an outside GM is likelier than an internal promotion. With Mitchell’s free agency ahead, the order of hires matters: a GM named first could shape the Mitchell talks, while a president named first could set the structure above the GM.
We are not listing candidates because none have been credibly reported.
The offseason moves waiting on the new leaders
- Kelsey Mitchell. She is an unrestricted free agent. She said she will be “selfish” in negotiating and values “good chemistry on and off the floor,” and called it too early to decide. The team’s stated priority was re-signing her; that was Cox’s message before the firing.
- Clark’s EPIC extension. Clark is eligible to renegotiate early under the CBA’s EPIC clause. She said she knows “what I deserve and what I’m worth” but that sacrifices are sometimes necessary. She has not said whether she will sign.
- The cap. Re-signing both stars would put three players near 60% of the cap, per CBS Sports.
- Defense and frontcourt depth. Only Makayla Timpson remained alongside Boston by season’s end, per Yahoo Sports.
- The coaching staff. Stephanie White’s status is not addressed in the reporting we read.
- Facility. The practice facility opens in March, ahead of 2027 training camp.
LiveWire Take
This section is LiveWire opinion.
Krauskopf’s legacy stands on its own: she built the franchise and won its first title. Cox’s exit is a different story and the first one the Fever have not explained. The team now has no president, no GM and an open coaching question at the moment Mitchell and Clark are most in play. Fans should watch the order of the hires and who has authority over the roster before the Mitchell decision.
We found no reporting that ties Caitlin Clark to either decision, and we will not suggest one.
Sources
- ESPN: Fever fire GM Amber Cox
- AP via NBC Washington
- AP via Journal Gazette
- Bleacher Report
- CBS Sports
- Yahoo Sports: exit interview takeaways
- Fever announcement
Not confirmed: why Cox was fired, interim leadership, coach White’s status, Krauskopf’s departure date. The ESPN page could not be read, so its headline is cited only as a link.
