Celtics assistant coach Damon Stoudamire is set to leave Boston and return to the college game to become the next head coach at Georgia Tech, according to multiple reports on Monday.

Stoudamire joined the Celtics in 2021 as Ime Udoka’s top assistant and stayed on the staff after Udoka was issued a season-long suspension. The 49-year-old Stoudamire – a former NBA guard – was previously the head coach at Pacific for five seasons.

Stoudamire has served as first-year head coach Joe Mazzulla’s top assistant this season, and even filled in for two games as an interim coach in December when Mazzulla suffered an eye injury after playing pickup basketball. He picked up his first two NBA wins in the Celtics’ victories over the Rockets and Clippers.

Celtics players were happy to see Stoudamire get that opportunity after becoming a favorite inside the locker room over the last two seasons.

“Damon (is) one of my favorite people in the organization,” Jaylen Brown said. “Just a veteran, a lot of experiences in different places – playing, coaching, assistant coaching. So Damon’s one of my favorite people.”

Stoudamire will replace Josh Pastner at Georgia Tech after he made just one NCAA Tournament appearance in his seven seasons. It’s unclear if the Celtics will replace Stoudamire for the remainder of the season, but Mazzulla will eventually need to add to his staff in the wake of his top assistant’s departure.

Developing…