The Phoenix Suns announced first-year head coach Jordan Ott’s coaching staff for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Jesse Mermuys, DeMarre Carroll, Brian Randle, Chaisson Allen, John Little, Mike Muscala and Sean Dwyer are Ott’s assistants, with Mateen Cleaves serving as a player development coach/leadership assistant.

Ott is Phoenix’s fourth head coach in four seasons. The Suns fired Monty Williams, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer under team owner Mat Ishbia.

Phoenix won just 36 games under Budenholzer and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20, which was the last time the Suns had a losing record.

The Suns open the 2025-26 season Oct. 22 against the Sacramento Kings at PHX Arena, league sources informed The Arizona Republic.

Mermuys is Ott’s most seasoned assistant. An Arizona graduate, Mermuys has been with six NBA teams from 2008 to 2024 before joining the Suns. The Tucson native served as an assistant under Jamahl Mosley in Orlando for the last four NBA seasons (2021-2025). He has 17 years of NBA experience as an assistant.

“It’s great. Obviously we want to kind of change the identity here. We want to compete at a high level. These guys have been doing it. The past two days, they’ve been competing at a high level.”

Suns assistant DeMarre Carroll on approach to Summer League as he’ll be head coach.… pic.twitter.com/A2ONECcwko

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) July 8, 2025

Carroll served as Phoenix’s summer league head coach with Allen and Little working as assistants. Little coached their G League team, Valley Suns, in their inaugural season.

The Valley Suns reached the 2025 G League playoffs.

Carroll was an assistant in Cleveland with Ott under 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year, Kenny Atkinson. Randle rejoins the Suns after being an assistant in Phoenix (2020-23) under Williams. He was an assistant with the Washington Wizards last season.

Allen is a carryover from Budenholzer’s coaching staff last season. Muscala played 11 NBA seasons with the first five (2013-18) for Budenholzer in Atlanta.

Ott was a video coordinator for the Hawks for three of those seasons (2013-16).

Dwyer served as an associate men’s head basketball coach at Loyola University Chicago last season in his fourth year with the university as an assistant. He was previously a student manager at Michigan State before beginning his coaching career as assistant video coordinator at Florida in 2009-10.

Cleaves and Ishbia were teammates on Michigan State’s 2000 men’s basketball national championship team under Tom Izzo.

Ishbia was a walk-on while Cleaves was a three-time All-American for the Spartans. A first-round pick in the 2000 draft, Cleaves played six NBA seasons.

The Suns have four preseason games scheduled. They play the Los Angeles Lakers twice – Oct. 3 in Palm Desert and Oct. 14 in Phoenix. The Suns also play in Brooklyn in Macao, China on Oct. 10 and Oct. 12.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.