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Lawson Joins Coach2Coach with Jason Garrett Podcast
9/2/2026 10:33:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C.—Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson recently joined former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett on his podcast Coach2Coach with Jason Garrett for a discussion about women's basketball, leadership and coaching.
On Getting the Phone Call from Duke
"It was definitely a difficult decision in that I knew where I was leaving. I never once took that job [in Boston] thinking I'll leave in a year. I wasn't even thinking of leaving. I thought I was going to be in Boston [for a while]. I enjoyed every day so much in Boston. I could have worked 10 more years in Boston. That's how much I loved it there."
"I did want to be a head coach at some point. I didn't think it would materialize that fast. Duke is so special so I couldn't say no to Duke in the sense that if I did it's probably not open for another 20 to 25 years. That's how good a job it is at the collegiate level, and it just fit me in every way. I love the school, the high academics. The importance of basketball on this campus is as important as any other campus in the country. The passion that exists here and what it felt like we could build here. This is such a great place. I love Duke so much. It fits me in so many ways, seen and unseen."
On Building a Winning Program and Environment
"For 16 years I observed, and you know what I observed about the losing teams and the losing programs is they get in their own way. Let's really work to create an environment where everyone has the chance every day to pursue excellence and let's not step over each other to do it. Let's work together to do it and to create something like that is not something you, like a helium balloon, let it go and it rises and continues to rise."
"What happens so often in these jobs we have is sometimes the leader loses their endurance. They get fatigued – physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and you get run down and you no longer have the endurance to be able to control all these things. And that's where I spend a lot of my time is making sure I have the endurance to be able to do it, because the whole goal of this is to outlast. That's a core principle in beating people is outlasting them and being able to do it harder, longer than others. So, you have to build yourself in a way that you can do that as a head coach."
On what she learned from Pat Summit
"I would say the belief that you have to have in yourself to be really good at this level. She never wavered in that, and your ability to be able to focus and execute what needs to be done, in spite of whatever's happening around you. The endurance to do it year after year, decade after decade and to feel like you never tire of it is something that's remarkable. That she was able to do is something I aspire to. I want this to be built to last all the time. I wake up every day ready. I'm so ready every day. Whatever it is, bring it. That doesn't mean sometimes I don't come home and I'm tired, or that doesn't mean I don't have bad days. But every day, I love this and it doesn't go away. It stays in the midst of whatever we're going through."
#GoDuke
Lawson talks with Garrett about her path to being the head coach at Duke. She speaks on all of the experiences as a player under the legendary Pat Summit and in the early years of the WNBA, as a broadcaster, a coach for the Boston Celtics and ultimately why she chose Duke.
A link to the full episode can be found here. The podcast can also be found Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Some notable segments from the conversation include:
1:15: Her decision to leave broadcasting and begin her coaching path
5:50: "I don't know if I'm the idiot or I'm the genius:" How she prepped for her coaching journey after a 16-year broadcasting career
18:25: The decision to leave the Celtics for Duke: "It was emotional"
22:45: The influences and people that helped create Lawson's vision for the Duke program
31:30: How the decision to play for Pat Summitt, a sophomore-year speech class ("I was so angry at her") and becoming a great communicator set her up for success as a player and coach
43:05: The importance of assistant coaches, not just as sounding boards but also their ability to 'give the pulse' of the organization
53:25: The evolution of the WNBA since Lawson's time as a player in the league and her perspective of the sport's top players as head coach of the USA Basketball Women's National Team
On Getting the Phone Call from Duke
"It was definitely a difficult decision in that I knew where I was leaving. I never once took that job [in Boston] thinking I'll leave in a year. I wasn't even thinking of leaving. I thought I was going to be in Boston [for a while]. I enjoyed every day so much in Boston. I could have worked 10 more years in Boston. That's how much I loved it there."
"I did want to be a head coach at some point. I didn't think it would materialize that fast. Duke is so special so I couldn't say no to Duke in the sense that if I did it's probably not open for another 20 to 25 years. That's how good a job it is at the collegiate level, and it just fit me in every way. I love the school, the high academics. The importance of basketball on this campus is as important as any other campus in the country. The passion that exists here and what it felt like we could build here. This is such a great place. I love Duke so much. It fits me in so many ways, seen and unseen."
On Building a Winning Program and Environment
"For 16 years I observed, and you know what I observed about the losing teams and the losing programs is they get in their own way. Let's really work to create an environment where everyone has the chance every day to pursue excellence and let's not step over each other to do it. Let's work together to do it and to create something like that is not something you, like a helium balloon, let it go and it rises and continues to rise."
"What happens so often in these jobs we have is sometimes the leader loses their endurance. They get fatigued – physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and you get run down and you no longer have the endurance to be able to control all these things. And that's where I spend a lot of my time is making sure I have the endurance to be able to do it, because the whole goal of this is to outlast. That's a core principle in beating people is outlasting them and being able to do it harder, longer than others. So, you have to build yourself in a way that you can do that as a head coach."
On what she learned from Pat Summit
"I would say the belief that you have to have in yourself to be really good at this level. She never wavered in that, and your ability to be able to focus and execute what needs to be done, in spite of whatever's happening around you. The endurance to do it year after year, decade after decade and to feel like you never tire of it is something that's remarkable. That she was able to do is something I aspire to. I want this to be built to last all the time. I wake up every day ready. I'm so ready every day. Whatever it is, bring it. That doesn't mean sometimes I don't come home and I'm tired, or that doesn't mean I don't have bad days. But every day, I love this and it doesn't go away. It stays in the midst of whatever we're going through."
#GoDuke
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