The Colorado Rapids are at the final stage of their coaching search, with Chris Armas and Chris Little among the four final candidates, sources briefed on the discussions told The Athletic.
A decision is expected imminently. The identities of the other two candidates outside of Armas and Little are not known at this time. The Rapids finished at the bottom of the Western Conference this year, parting ways with Robin Fraser in September.
Armas was most recently head coach of Toronto FC in 2021, but was let go after only 11 league matches. Before that, he won a Supporters’ Shield with the New York Red Bulls in 2018, taking over during the season after Jesse Marsch left for RB Leipzig. Armas was an assistant at Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick and Leeds United briefly under Marsch.
During his decorated playing career, Armas was named MLS Best XI five times and won an MLS Cup and four U.S. Open Cups with the Chicago Fire. He made 66 appearances with the U.S. national team.
Little took over as Colorado’s interim coach following Fraser’s dismissal. Colorado had two wins and two draws over its final eight matches under Little, despite already being far below the playoff line with minimal stakes to play for. Six of those matches came against teams that would qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Scottish-born Little joined the Rapids coaching staff in 2021. He had previously been head coach of the Tacoma Defiance, the Seattle Sounders’ second team.
Colorado has moved quickly but methodically through its coaching search, doing due diligence across all candidates. The club has also started making moves this offseason, with key players Jack Price and Diego Rubio each announcing they would not be returning to the club in 2024. That opens up plenty of flexibility under the salary cap.
Colorado has DP forward Rafael Navarro on loan through the summer and will have to decide on a purchase option whether to keep him. Navarro is expected to be a key piece in the interim, as well as Irish midfielder Connor Ronan, fullbacks Andrew Gutman and Keegan Rosenberry plus rising midfielder Cole Bassett.
The Rapids are one of seven coaching vacancies currently in MLS, alongside the Portland Timbers, New England Revolution, Minnesota United, D.C. United, Fire and Red Bulls.
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(Photo of Armas: Matt Stamey / USA Today)
