The Sixers on Tuesday morning announced a handful of coaching changes, among them the hiring of Coby Karl as head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats, the organization's G League affiliate.
The team also added Jamie Young as an assistant on Sixers head coach Doc Rivers' staff, as previously reported, and promoted Dwayne Jones from skill development coach to an assistant coach/player development role. J.P Clark and Isaiah Fox have been hired as Blue Coats assistants, as well.
Karl replaces Connor Johnson, who began his professional coaching career under former Sixers head coach Brett Brown and took over as Delaware head's coach in 2018. Johnson has left the organization to pursue new opportunities, NBC Sports Philadelphia was told.
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Led by Johnson, the Blue Coats made a run to the G League Finals in last season's Disney World bubble. G League MVP Paul Reed and Shake Milton are two recent developmental successes.
Karl played eight seasons of professional basketball and made 24 NBA appearances across three franchises. He then transitioned to coaching and served as the South Bay Lakers' head coach from 2016 through 2021. Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker and Andre Ingram are a few of the notable players he coached for South Bay.
Karl's father is George Karl, a native of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, who ranks sixth all time in NBA head coaching wins with 1,175.
Both Young and Clark have been on Rivers' staff before. Young was a longtime Celtics assistant, while Clark followed Rivers from Boston to Los Angeles.
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A four-year player at Arizona and former professional player, Fox worked with the Blue Coats' big men as an assistant coach during the 2019-20 season. If rookie center Charles Bassey is assigned to the G League at some stage this season, expect Fox to be a key assistant for him.
The G League is planning to return to a full season of 50 games this year. The Blue Coats' opener is scheduled for Nov. 6 against the Long Island Nets.