The Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps have yet to name new Head Coaches for the 2023-2024 PHF season. Here's a look at some names each team should consider.

The offseason is well underway with a frenzy of free agency signings occurring across the PHF. Two of the most notable positions not yet filled are the head coaching positions for the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps.

The vacancies come after Rhea Coad and Ronda Engelhardt departed from their roles with Buffalo and Minnesota respectively.

With free agent camps and roster building well underway, these hirings are top priorities for the two teams who share an ownership group. Here's a look at some geographic specific candidates, as well as a few names who could, and should be in line for future coaching vacancies in the PHF.

Buffalo Beauts Candidates

Kate Leary - Merrimack College assistant coach Kate Leary is a former PHF player with the Metropolitan Riveters, also having played in Switzerland, the CWHL, and NCAA with Boston College. Leary already has two seasons under her belt with Merrimack after a single season as an assistant at Saint Anslem. She also owns a masters degree in sports administration from Boston College. She'd be a good fit for a Buffalo team that will need guidance this season, and strong systems to compete.

Dennis Miller - If you want experience, and a local coach, you're not going to find anyone who checks those boxes better than Dennis Miller. Miller is the former head coach of the University of Vermont and University of North Dakota women's programs at the NCAA Division I level. He held those roles until 2007 when he joined the Buffalo Sabres, where he served as a goaltending coach, conditioning coach, scout, and director of player development. He parted with the Sabres in 2020, and last year got back into coaching with USA Hockey's women's U-16/U-17 development rosters. 

Kelley Steadman - A unique background of coaching and playing experience would make Steadman an excellent candidate for the Beauts job. She played for the Beauts for two seasons from 2015 to 2017 and is a two-time World Champion representing Team USA. Steadman also has seven seasons of NCAA coaching experience with Mercyhurst and Robert Morris University.

Other Buffalo names to consider: Madeline Norton, Megan Quinn, Emily Matheson, Jacquie Greco

Minnesota Whitecaps Candidates

Nina Rodgers - A former Minnesota Whitecaps player herself, Rodgers is a Minnesota product, and recently became the first ever Black woman to coach at the NCAA Division I level as an assistant coach with Dartmouth. As a player, Rodgers won a pair of NCAA titles with Minnesota, and coached the MN Unbounded program prior to joining Dartmouth. She's got 'head coach' written all over her whether it's with the Whitecaps or elsewhere.

Laura Schuler - Currently an assistant coach with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Schuler has head coaching experience with Canada's national team, Dartmouth College, and Northeastern University. As a player she was also a member of Canada's national team at both the Worlds and Olympic Games. She'd bring experience to maximize the output from Minnesota's roster, which at the top will be out skilled by most teams in the PHF this season.

Natalie Darwitz - One of the best to ever lace them up for Team USA, Darwitz has 11 World Championship and Olympic medals, two NCAA titles, and numerous individual honors to her resume as a player, serving three years as USA's captain. As a coach, her resume is growing as well coaching high school hockey in Minnesota, followed by seven seasons as head coach of NCAA DIII Hamlin University, and for the last two years, she's been an assistant with the University of Minnesota. 

Gigi Marvin - She'd be a first time coach at a very high level, but Marvin has a lifetime of experience to draw from. Captain of the University of Minnesota, former Minnesota Whitecaps defender, 10 World and Olympic medals, CWHL and PHF championships, and three years in the PWHPA. She's learned about, and watched the game at every level, and could bring a wealth of knowledge to the Whitecaps.

Other candidates: Sarma Ozmena