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Interim Dream coach Petersen steps down, Taylor promoted

Joshua Huston / National Basketball Association / Getty

Interim Atlanta Dream head coach Mike Petersen resigned due to health issues, the team announced Saturday.

Assistant coach Darius Taylor will assume head coaching duties on an interim basis, becoming the team's second temporary bench boss since Nicki Collen's abrupt departure to Baylor in May.

"For health reasons that the grind of the WNBA season will not allow me to adequately address, I have decided to step down from my coaching duties with the Dream," Petersen said in a statement through the team. "I want to thank the Atlanta Dream players, staff and ownership for the opportunity to be part of an amazing organization."

When Petersen assumed coaching duties after Collen's departure, he stressed he had no designs on becoming the team's permanent head coach. Now, the longtime collegiate and WNBA coach will move into the Dream's front office in an advisory role.

The Dream arrived at the WNBA's Olympic break with a limp 6-13 record, spoiling the inaugural campaign under a new ownership group headed by real estate developer Larry Gottesdiener.

Petersen's brief tenure included a public falling-out with second-year guard Chennedy Carter, the fourth overall pick in 2020, who has been sidelined with a team-issued suspension since early July.

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