With Aleksander Sekulic officially taking the reins at Barcelona, the EuroLeague coaching carousel has finally stopped spinning – leaving several big names on the outside looking in.
However, knowing how the EuroLeague operates, it is entirely reasonable to expect that some of these names will sit on a bench and take over a new club before the end of the 2026/27 season.
Some of them are already national team head coaches, like Ergin Ataman or Chus Mateo, while others, such as Ioannis Sfairopoulos, are waiting for the right opportunity to return to the big stage.
1) Ergin Ataman
Until this summer, Ergin Ataman was in charge of Panathinaikos, but a second consecutive season without a EuroLeague title – along with back-to-back losses to Olympiacos in the Greek Basket League finals – led to the two sides parting ways. The Turkish strategist was replaced in Athens by Zeljko Obradovic.
Throughout his career, the 60-year-old coach has achieved success at every level. Way back in 2002, he led Montepaschi Siena to the FIBA Saporta Cup title, following it up with a EuroLeague Final Four appearance with the same club just a year later.
In 2012, he guided Besiktas to the FIBA EuroChallenge trophy, and four years later, he captured the EuroCup with Galatasaray. However, his achievements didn’t end there.
He has been the most successful head coach in the EuroLeague throughout the 2020s, lifting three titles – two with Anadolu Efes and one with Panathinaikos.
Ataman is also currently serving as the head coach of the Turkish national team. It is not entirely out of the question that he will focus solely on the national team over the coming year, as he attempts to secure qualification for the FIBA World Cup following a silver-medal run at EuroBasket 2025.
One thing is certain: whenever he is ready to return to club coaching, plenty of teams will welcome him with open arms.
2) Ettore Messina
The legendary Italian coach Ettore Messina entered this summer without a club. After stepping down from his head coaching role in favor of Giuseppe Poeta in November 2025, he also vacated his position as President of Basketball Operations at Milano early in the summer.
The 66-year-old coach once won an impressive four EuroLeague titles, making him one of the greatest in European basketball history, though he struggled to replicate that success in recent seasons.
The trophy-laden coach is now looking for a new destination to launch a new chapter in his career. For a long time, he was rumored to be the potential new head coach of Maxima Roma – the club Paul Matiasic relocated from Brescia to Rome – but that has yet to materialize.
In a similarity he shares with Ataman, it is unlikely the legendary Italian will take over a team mid-season unless guaranteed a long-term project. Consequently, Messina may skip this EuroLeague season entirely, unless he lands a job in the coming weeks – which remains improbable.
3) Sergio Scariolo
Sergio Scariolo is the second Italian coach on this list. Following a unsuccessful season in which they failed to win a single trophy, Real Madrid decided to dismiss the former Spain national team head coach and replace him with Pedro Martinez.
The winner of four EuroBasket titles, two Olympic medals, and a FIBA World Cup with Spain was thus left without a club after just one season with Los Blancos, entering the free-agent market.
Scariolo also boasts extensive NBA experience, having spent three years as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors and helping them capture the NBA championship in 2019.
Unlike the previous two names on this list, Scariolo has not been linked to any new club rumors since leaving Real Madrid. There is a strong possibility he might take a break after a highly stressful and disappointing campaign in Madrid, while a return to national team coaching – where he achieved his greatest success – remains well within the realm of possibility.
4) Chus Mateo
Chus Mateo achieved great success with Real Madrid, first as an assistant and then as head coach, before Scariolo replaced him in that role last summer.
The longtime assistant under Pablo Laso succeeded the veteran coach in 2022, and in his very first season at the helm, he led Real Madrid to a EuroLeague title.
After leaving Madrid, Mateo quickly secured a new role, taking over the Spain national team following EuroBasket 2025, where he has yet to manage his first major tournament.
While a coach managing both a club and a national team simultaneously is nothing new in the EuroLeague, the fact that Spain is preparing for the FIBA World Cup – where they still need to qualify – makes it unlikely Mateo would take over a club mid-season, especially while heading such a major national team project.
5) Ioannis Sfairopoulos
Ioannis Sfairopoulos suffered an inglorious end at Crvena Zvezda early last season. After just two EuroLeague rounds, the red-and-whites decided to part ways with the experienced Greek strategist and install Sasa Obradovic in his place.
The coach who led Olympiacos to the EuroLeague Final Four in both the 2014/15 and 2016/17 seasons would certainly bring immense wealth from his 35 years in the coaching profession to whichever team he joins next.
Following his departure from Crvena Zvezda, he was linked with several new clubs. However, nothing ultimately materialized from those potential moves. Anadolu Efes and Barcelona were the most prominently rumored destinations, but both clubs ultimately chose to entrust their benches to other head coaches.
It would come as no surprise if Sfairopoulos lands a job with a struggling team that opts for a mid-season coaching change – much like the situation when he originally took over at Crvena Zvezda.
6) Luca Banchi
Luca Banchi has been without a club since the end of the 2024/25 season, following his departure from Anadolu Efes. In the meantime, he has also taken over as the head coach of the Italian national team.
Over a coaching career spanning more than 40 years, Banchi has led Montepaschi Siena, Milano, Virtus, and Anadolu Efes in the EuroLeague, bringing a wealth of experience that would prove invaluable to any club.
In fact, he was heavily linked with a return to Anadolu Efes this summer as a replacement for Pablo Laso. However, that potential agreement ultimately collapsed, reportedly due to personal reasons concerning the Italian coach.
While he would undoubtedly bring immense value to top-tier European clubs, Banchi was forced to step away from the July FIBA window due to those same personal matters. Consequently, it is unlikely he will commit to a double-duty role anytime soon, especially with a demanding second round of FIBA World Cup qualifiers ahead with Italy.
7) Velimir Perasovic
Velimir Perasovic decided to leave Unics after five successful years at the helm of the Russian club, following a loss to CSKA in the VTB League Finals last season.
A member of Jugoplastika’s legendary generation that won three consecutive EuroLeague titles, a three-time EuroLeague Final Four participant with Baskonia, and a EuroCup champion with Valencia – it goes without saying how much of a championship mentality he could inject into a team, potentially even helping a mid-table side overachieve.
Baskonia reportedly showed interest in him this summer as a potential replacement for Paolo Galbiati, but the Italian ultimately remained in Vitoria, leaving Perasovic to wait for an opportunity elsewhere.
It is certainly not out of the question that a club struggling to start the season as planned might call upon the veteran 61-year-old to step in as a “firefighter”.
8) Igor Kokoskov
Igor Kokoskov had little luck with his stint at Anadolu Efes, as his tenure came to an end very quickly after just 13 EuroLeague rounds – though it is often forgotten that the Turkish club was plagued by major injury problems before Pablo Laso arrived in Istanbul as his successor.
Over the years, the Serbian coach gained vast experience as an NBA assistant, even winning a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. He was the first head coach born outside North America in NBA history when he took over the Phoenix Suns in 2018, having previously been the league’s first non-North American full-time assistant. Additionally, he pulled off a massive miracle at EuroBasket 2017, steering Slovenia to the gold medal.
However, in recent years, fortune has not favored his head coaching roles. Club management teams have often pulled the trigger too quickly without giving him the time to build a proper system.
Kokoskov recently joined the upcoming startup men’s and women’s basketball league, Project B, as head of player development, making a return to club coaching unlikely in the near future. Still, any list would be incomplete without mentioning a truly solid coach.
9) Dejan Radonjic
Dejan Radonjic comes off a turbulent spell at Zenit, where he arrived as Aleksander Sekulic’s replacement, but failed to accomplish the objective, finishing the season without a single trophy. The semifinal elimination in the VTB League at the hands of Unics was particularly disappointing.
Over the years, the Montenegrin coach did a remarkably good job with Crvena Zvezda and Bayern, while his stint at Panathinaikos is not one he remembers fondly. Despite a few setback results, he remains one of the finest coaches in all of Europe when it comes to defensive scheme, which has frequently paved his path to success.
Radonjic is almost always an option for mid-table clubs in need of a spark during a slump – especially those suffering from defensive instability. Because of this, it would come as no surprise if he lands another opportunity in the EuroLeague or EuroCup mid-season.
10) Jurica Golemac
Jurica Golemac began the 2025/26 season as the head coach of Dubai, marking his debut at the highest level of European basketball, but the ending he experienced was not the one he had hoped for. The UAE-based club dismissed him right before the final round of the EuroLeague regular season, replacing him with Aleksander Sekulic.
Although Golemac lacks extensive experience on the elite stage, in his first season with Dubai – a team that, to be fair, suffered heavily from player absences, particularly during the crucial stretch of the season – he guided the club to the brink of a play-in spot.
As things currently stand, he might not start the season with a club, but it would come as no surprise if he lands a job during the season and gets another opportunity to prove himself at the highest level.
