Chicago Sky introduce new head coach Tyler Marsh
CHICAGO (WGN) — A little more than a month after former head coach Teresa Weatherspoon was unceremoniously relieved of her duties, the Chicago Sky introduced their new head coach to the Windy City Tuesday.
Tyler Marsh, who was hired on Nov. 2, joins a Sky franchise looking to get back on track with a promising roster that features budding young stars like Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
"We promised our fans that we would be very intentional with our next coaching hire, with the goal of being a playoff and championship contender every year," Nadia Rawlinson, Chicago Sky Co-Owner and Operating Chairman said. "Coach Marsh brings a wealth of successful coaching experience and accountable leadership to our young team, and we look forward to a new era of Chicago Sky basketball with Coach Marsh at the helm."
Marsh joins the Sky with a lengthy resume as the franchise's ninth head coach in team history.
In three years on the Las Vegas Aces coaching staff under Head Coach Becky Hammon, Marsh served as an assistant coach and head of player development, where he helped coach the Aces to three straight playoff berths from 2022-24, which included back-to-back WNBA Championships (2022-23) and a Commissioner's Cup Championship in 2022.
Prior to his time with Las Vegas, Marsh held a similar role as an assistant coach in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers under head coaches Rick Carlisle and Nate Bjorkgren from 2020-22.
Before Indiana, Marsh won an NBA Championship as the Toronto Raptors' assistant video coordinator/player development coach under Head Coach Nick Nurse in 2019.
Marsh also coached in the NBA G League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants from 2016-17, Bakersfield Jam from 2014-15 (now the Motor City Cruise), Iowa Energy from 2013-14 (now the Iowa Wolves) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers from 2012-13.
Marsh's father, Donnie Marsh, also has decades of experience coaching basketball.
The elder Marsh is currently an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at the university of Detroit-Mercy. The younger Marsh also coached under his father as an assistant coach for the Alabama A&M men's basketball team during the 2017-18 season.
"I'm so grateful to be the next head coach of the Chicago Sky," Marsh said. "I'm looking forward to building relationships with our players and throughout our entire organization as we work towards establishing a championship culture on and off the court."
The Sky were firmly in contention for one of the WNBA last two playoff seeds coming out of the 2024 all-star break, but a 2-12 finish over their last 14 games knocked them out of the league's playoff picture, and contributed toward Weatherspoon being relieved of her duties.
The stumbling block that held last year's Sky team back? Shooting, which was a point of emphasis from Marsh during his introductory press conference.
The Sky finished last in the WNBA in three point attempts (14.9) and second-to-last in points per game (77.4) and field goal percentage (42.2%), while hitting threes at the league's fourth-worst clip (32.3%).
