Colorado Rapids Hire Chris Armas as Head Coach: Burgundy Wave Reacts

COMMERCE CITY – The Colorado Rapids have hired Chris Armas as their new permanent first team head coach, the club announced Friday morning. This comes seventy-two days after the club dismissed Robin Fraser and multi-round search with numerous off the beaten path candidates.

Armas comes to Colorado having previously been on staff at Leeds United during their wild relegation season in the Premiership. Prior to that, he was an assistant at Manchester United under interim Ralf Rangnick. He lasted less than six months as Toronto FC manager in 2021. Before that, he spent six seasons in the New York Red Bulls organization. He was an assistant to Jesse Marsch and then took over as head coach in summer 2018.

It’s Hard to Sell This Appointment Given His Recent Track Record.

Scroll through the original tweet by Tom Bogert of The Athletic and you’ll see Rapids fans, RBNY fans, and others roasting Armas and the club. It’s hard to find people, fan or media, arguing in favor of this hiring.

There were Rapids fans arguing in favor of Chris Little. Rapids fans who support Arsenal liked the idea of Jack Wilshere. Hernán Losada was just let go by Montreal, and he had defenders after firings in back-to-back years. Heck, plenty of Rapids Twitter defending Fraser after he was fired in September. Does this not say something?

After four jobs that didn’t end well, it’s hard for many to support this. He inherited a fantastic RBNY team and played conservative in the 2018 playoffs against Atlanta, costing Red Bulls a chance at hosting MLS Cup. The team regressed in the 18-months that followed and he got sacked.

Ali Curtis was Sporting Director at RBNY and then General Manager of TFC in 2021. He brought Armas over to Red Bulls-ify Toronto and that failed in less than a year. Rangnick being a Red Bulls guy helped him get brought on at Man Utd. There were reports the players thought he was out of his depth. He got the job at Leeds because Marsch was there.

Sometimes it’s who you know, not what you know. There’s an argument that every major job he’s gotten is because he was buddies with Marsch or because someone with Red Bulls connections gave him the benefit of the doubt.

President Pádraig Smith and others will surely spin the Supporters’ Shield win in 2018, his six trophies as a player (one Shield, one MLS Cup, four Open Cups), and being an assistant at Old Trafford. Fans will remain disappointed and pessimistic that they took 72 days, were “inundated” with candidates, and came up with the one leaked candidate who they did not want.

He’ll Play The Kids!

For the three happy clappers still scrolling, let’s find some positives in this hiring. Firstly, as a Red Bulls guy, he’s got to believe in playing the kids and developing talent. Colorado’s got several Homegrowns wanting to break into the first team. They’ve got the second and fourth overall picks in the SuperDraft.

Moïse Bombito, Braian Galván, and Cole Bassett are looking to have impact roles with the first team. If the starting lineup next year is the youngest in the league with four homegrowns and they never give up, I could get behind that. If they’re bad in 2024 but there’s clear plan and improvement (ala the Chris Little Effect), that could earn optimism and expectations for 2025.

“They have nothing but good things to say to them. We sought the input of a number of top players in this league and abroad and they were wholesome in their praise of him. He comes with an energy every day that is infection. It’s something that we needed,” Smith said of past players and coaches who worked with Armas.

This is his first MLS job since 2021. He has to be hungry. Bassett and company have to be hungry to right the ship next year, especially the young players looking for an opportunity. Hungry dogs run faster.

Between jobs, he coached the N.Y. Hota Bavarians Under-23 and loves working with young players. Can he do a better job of integrating them into the first team than Fraser did? Hopefully.

Red Bulls Adjacent, but not Energy Drink Soccer.

The Rapids were not a good home team. Smith has talked about wanting a coach who can take advantage of the altitude and the fitness of the team. They’ve taken steps to get the squad fitter than they’ve ever been. But is Armas coming here to turn the Rapids into Red Bulls Colorado?

“We do want to be dominants in transition. It’s important that we have a strong grasp of the pressing and counter pressing principals. We also need to be able to keep possession. Especially at home, we need to be able to work the opponent. It’s being controlled. He’s got his own ideas about that. He’s a big believer in not beating ourselves,” Smith told Burgundy Wave.

“I was struck by the desire of the organization to return to the playoffs and compete for trophies. I’m as hungry as ever to deliver this success to our fans and our club. I’ve always been eager to implement my style of play at a club that plays and trains at altitude. This advantage, along with high energy, attacking and entertaining football, can help our team and fans return to home field dominance,” Armas said in the club press release.

This seems like a style of play that should work. Armas and Smith should not be deviating from the path as Fraser did in the end.

Let’s Talk About the Process.

Burgundy Wave has heard there were 11 initial candidates and five finalists, not four as previously appointed. Smith highlighted three things they were looking for: Leadership. A shared model of play. Player development.

“As we went through the process, Chris just continued to tick all the boxes,” Smith added.

Armas was the first choice candidate coming out of the final round of interviews, which consisted of two-day in-person meetings for each candidate. Multiple international and domestic candidates were interviewed. First round interviews were several hours each, many of them virtual. The club took its time and gave time to allow interim Chris Little try to earn the job as well. Criticize the decision, but the timeline of the process was thorough.

From the quotes above, Armas is clearly a players coach and will improve the locker room culture. Fraser did that as well. The shared vision for a style of play as they look to get younger is good.

Armas separated himself from the other finalists. He had the best plan for the current roster and was most aligned with the club’s vision for the model of play. That matched with his past pedigree and his ideas about the game that he’d yet to be in a position to execute.

What Comes Next?

The club press conference ends stating “Armas’ coaching staff will be announced at a later date.”

Despite getting new extensions at the beginning of 2023, Fraser’s assistants could be on the chopping block. Armas will be heavily involved in the roster decisions that are due by December 1. Then there’s the showcase and the SuperDraft at the end of December. Colorado have the second and fourth overall picks.

“Chris is actually quite positive about the roster, but I think we’re we’re both very much in agreement that there needs to be a significant overhaul as well. So I think there are some key pieces that that we’re we believe and Chris believes it’s very nice name with the game model that he wants to implement the likes of Moïse Bombito, Conor Ronan, Cole Bassett, Rafael Navarro. These guys really fit well with what he wants to do in terms of the energy they bring, their ability to cover ground,” Smith told Burgundy Wave.

Functionally, Armas has to be able to get more out of this roster than Fraser or Little did. They’re locked into their three Designated Players. They have their U22 players. He does have a track record of outperforming his budget in MLS.

There will be an introductory press conference on Thursday November 30 at 11 a.m. Burgundy Wave will attend and cover it.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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