According to Tom Bogert, the Colorado Rapids are set to name Matt Wells as the club's newest head coach. Wells, 37, will be the Rapids' fifteenth head coach hire in club history.
This will be Wells' first ever Head Coaching Role. His previous jobs have all been assistant coaching stints across various tiers in England featuring a brief time in Belgium with Club Brugge. Wells was most notably a part of Scott Parker's coaching staff tallying up a total of 196 games under Parker.
Additional Reading: Spurs assistant Matt Wells to be Colorado Rapids manager.
Who is Matt Wells?
Colorado Rapids Head Coach Matt Wells was a Tottenham Hotspur youth academy product. Wells did not make his senior debut as he retired following a string of injuries. He immediately pivoted to coaching with his first role being at the academy he was developed in. Wells had various roles in the academy from July 2015 to March 2019. Wells would follow Scott Parker from the academy to Fulham, Bournemouth, and Club Brugge over the course of four years. In April of 2023, Wells would return to his boyhood club serving as an assistant under Ange Postecoglu. The two would go on to win Tottenham's first piece of silverware; a 2024 Europe League Title. Wells has served as Thomas Frank's assistant since the sacking but he is now set to move stateside with a Rapids team that is in desperate need of an identity.
Reactions
Given how much Kroenke Sports Entertainment (KSE) management stressed back in October's forum about the Rapids' synergy (or lack thereof) with the rest of KSE as a whole, I'd be remiss not to mention the hilarity of the team going to Arsenal's rival for the hire. This wouldn't be the first time the Rapids and Tottenham collaborated despite the Arsenal ties. In the Summer of 2015, the MLS All Star Game was held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and the opponent that evening was none other than Tottenham Hotspur!
It's funny to think back to that game twelve years ago: a recently retired Wells was just settling in to his first coaching role in the academy whilst the main team were in preseason preparations featuring a visit to DSGP.
Wells is still rather young. He will be among the youngest head coaches in MLS following in the footsteps of former Premier League assistant Eric Ramsay, Minnesota United's 34-year-old head coach- the youngest in the league. Ramsay has implemented a very strong off-ball approach elevating Minnesota to one of the most potent counter-attacking teams in the league; they finished with the fewest possession percentage (39.7%) but outscored half the league with 56 total goals scored. The Loons' recent evolution also coincides with their strong defensive shape and identity despite spending the third least in the league on defenders and eight lowest on their goalkeeping core. Ramsay, an unknown with plenty of question marks at the time of his hire, has stabilized Minnesota in such a surging way that their identity was enough to take them all the way to the Western Conference Semifinal.
Could that be where the game, as a whole, is going and is this where Wells leans tactically/philosophically? After all, the Rapids finished fourth-to-last in MLS possession (45.7%) indicating the desire for a counter attacking style, but only outscored eight MLS teams with 44 total goals scored. On the other side of the ball, the Rapids defending last season was atrocious despite having the fourth highest paid group of defenders in the league and top ten in goalkeeper spending. With roster moves still to come, there's a lot of questions as to where the game model is going. According to Transfermarkt, Parker's preferred formation is the 4-2-3-1; could that be the system Wells prefers as well?
The last Rapids head coach hire that came from abroad was Anthony Hudson. Ever since then, the team has hired two domestic head coaches in Robin Fraser and Chris Armas; both of whom were dealt bad hands when it came to roster construction. The prior head coach hires, including Wells, have not had much proven success as first team coaches and while this new hire may not be an American soccer retread like a Dominic Kinnear or Caleb Porter, it's reasonable for anyone to be skeptical of the move. As Jason Maxwell puts it:
That's a fair take. I'm glad we didn't get another retread but I would have preferred somebody with first-team club success at some point in their past career. Something we haven't gotten for 25 years.
— Jason Maxwell (@RapidsJason) December 12, 2025
I do continue to question the merits of established foreign manager signings in the league especially in how they translate to the level of play. It wasn't long ago that foreign managers were failing to adapt to the intricacies and nuances of the league. But fast forward to the landscape now and who could have seen Wilfried Nancy coming? Or Jesper Sorenson? Or the previously mentioned Eric Ramsay? Each coaching profile here is unique in their own way, but by no means did they have the name recognition. I think about as much as this Wells hire as I did with the others: "Okay, lets see how they do!"
Early Verdict
It's fine. I am not as down as the hire as others but I'm willing to wipe the slate clean for Wells and no one else. Padraig Smith will be in his final year of his contract and the expectations were pretty lofty from Kevin Demoff in the late October forum:
"The coaches we have had discussions w/so far... believe we have a good core here and so many that have reached out to us and those we have reached out to feel the same."#Rapids96
— Box State Footy (@boxstatefooty) October 30, 2025
If the bar has truly been set to competing for MLS Cup, making the playoffs should no longer be a defining metric. Smith is quite good at constructing rebuilds but this year they'll need to not only rebuild but also ensure a wide open championship window. If teams like San Diego can establish a clear identity, playstyle, and succeed immediately within year one, there's no reason why the Rapids can't do the same. For all the talk of making CONCACAF Champions Cup, previous playoff appearances and the heights of the now four-year-old 2021 season, the Rapids have not won a playoff game since 2016. Reading the op-ed back, it sure seems like someone could write that same letter and it would still address a lot of the issues in this current ethos.
With plenty of off season still to come, the first step towards the 2026 season has been taken with Wells' hire. The team have a good amount of GAM to work with, now have their coach in house, and believe in their strong core; anything short of a Conference Semi-Final (or a strong USOC run?) is a failure. Especially if the bar is set to COMPETING FOR MLS CUP; YEAR IN, YEAR OUT. Amidst a dynamic American soccer landscape in a World Cup hosting year, the advent of Denver Summit, and with a now fourth head coach hire, now is the time for not only Padraig Smith to excel but so too for KSE to really show their commitment to this team and to stay true to their expectations.
