The Chris Armas era is over in Commerce City.
The Colorado Rapids announced that the club and coach mutually agreed to part ways on Monday. Armas, whose contract expired at the end of this season, finished with a 26-29-13 record in the MLS regular season since joining ahead of the 2024 campaign. In 2025, the Rapids were on track to make the playoffs for the second straight year but had their season end dramatically on Decision Day after a poor run in the season’s home stretch.
A search for a new coach is underway, effective immediately.
After a dismal 2023 season that ended as the worst in club history and included the firing of coach Robin Fraser, Armas brought life back to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a fast-paced style and strong personality. During his time in Colorado, Armas worked to build bonds with players, staff and fans and helped shift the club’s culture in short order.
“We’re grateful to Chris for the professionalism and passion he brought to the club,” Rapids President Pádraig Smith said in a statement. “He helped our group take meaningful steps forward over the past two seasons and leaves behind a strong culture that will serve us well as we begin this next chapter.”
While there were low points in his short tenure, Armas led the club to notable heights, namely an improbable run to third place in the 2024 Leagues Cup competition, which included four straight victories against Liga MX clubs and an upset of Club América in the quarterfinals. He also led the Rapids to back-to-back Rocky Mountain Cups against rival Real Salt Lake, a feat the club hadn’t accomplished since 2005-06 — the cup’s inaugural two-year stretch.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done here and the progress the team has made,” Armas said in a statement. “I want to thank the Kroenke family, Kevin Demoff and Pádraig, along with the players, staff, and the Rapids community, for their trust and support. This is a special club with passionate fans, and I’ll always be grateful for my time in Colorado.”
As much as Armas’ time was stamped by culture improvement and a high-energy playstyle, it was also marked by sustained roster turnover. Both of his years started far better than they finished, which can be at least partially attributed to system-breaking moves in the summer transfer window.
In 2024, the MLS-record sale of center back Moïse Bombito left the team without a speedy last-ditch defender to cover the team when they sent numbers into the attack. This year, star midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, who had broken club goal contribution records in 2024, demanded a trade to Fraser’s Toronto FC. In both seasons, marked decline in performances after the moves left the team near the bottom or out of the playoff picture entirely.
Conversely, the Rapids completed some record inbound transfers during his tenure, including the completion of Rafael Navarro’s $3.5 million transfer in 2024 and nabbing Paxten Aaronson from Eintracht Frankfurt for a club-record $7 million this August.
Smith said on multiple occasions this year that the club planned on extending Armas’ third head-coaching stint. Armas told reporters near the end of the season that offers were made and an agreement was “close,” but it never got over the line.
There are multiple openings across the league, including in Armas’ hometown of New York with the Red Bulls, who also mutually parted ways with their head coach on Monday. Other vacancies include the New England Revolution, CF Montréal, St. Louis CITY, Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United.
The majority of the coaching staff outside of Armas also had their contracts expire at the end of this year. Decisions on the future of those coaches will be made this offseason, with a large input coming from the next head coach. That head coach, the club said, will be identified and chosen with a focus on “building on the foundation established over the past two seasons,” according to the club’s statement.
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