“I Was Gonna Leave”: Steve Kerr Makes Emotional Confession Over Warriors Return

When the Warriors announced that Steve Kerr had agreed to a new two-year contract, the move was framed as a formality. A coach and organization simply picking up where a dynasty had left off. Now, months later, Kerr revealed just how close that outcome actually came to not happening at all.

In a new interview, the Warriors coach admitted that one or two weeks before the regular season ended, he'd essentially already decided to walk away. Speaking on the Tom Tolbert Show, Kerr described a decision that, until now, he'd kept almost entirely to himself.

"I had decided that I was going to leave," Kerr said. "I just thought it was time. I felt it. I didn't tell anyone, but I said to myself: Yes, it's over."

Rather than act on that feeling immediately, Kerr said he deliberately let the emotions of a disappointing season settle before revisiting the decision. He then sat down three separate times with owner Joe Lacob, Kirk Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. "We talked about the team and everything that was to come," Kerr said. "And we came to the conclusion that we had to continue together."

That near-departure came on the heels of a disappointing 2025-26 campaign that ended in a play-in loss to Phoenix. It's the kind of stretch that would push plenty of accomplished coaches toward the exit, and for a brief window, it very nearly did the same to Kerr, who has led the Warriors to four championships since taking over in 2014.

Now several months removed from nearly walking away, Kerr says the decision to stay has left him more excited than ever. "I'm really happy it turned out that way because I'm all in for this season," Kerr said. "I couldn't be more enthusiastic. I feel reenergized, revitalized."

That energy comes at a moment when outside expectations for Golden State are about as low as they've been in years, and Kerr made clear that suits him just fine. "Everyone's burying us, and that suits me fine," he said. "It's not a bad position. Let people say what they want. Me, I'm pretty confident that we can have a very good season."

Between the near-exit and the newfound enthusiasm, Kerr's comments shows a coach who needed to seriously consider walking away before fully recommitting to what comes next.

Whether that renewed energy translates into a surprise turnaround remains to be seen. But for a Warriors team already being written off by outside observers, having a coach who almost left, and chose to stay anyway, might be exactly the kind of motivation this season calls for.