COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids today announced a restructuring of its Sporting Department and updates to the club’s technical leadership ahead of the 2025 MLS season.
The club will align all club technical matters from the Academy to the first team under a Technical Director and have introduced a new Director of Player Personnel role to oversee all environment, operations, amateur scouting, and player support functions.
Within this new structure, Chris Cartlidge has been promoted to Technical Director with Brian Crookham promoted to Director of Player Personnel. Both will continue to report directly to Team President and Chief Soccer Officer Pádraig Smith.
Roster planning and construction, recruitment, salary cap management and analytics will remain under Sporting Director Fran Taylor, who will take a larger role in managing club depth charts and roster planning across all teams.
“This restructure strengthens our vertical alignment across all key sporting functions, from the futures program all the way to the first team,” said Smith. “By transitioning from an isolated ‘team-specific’ approach to a function-driven model, we can enhance our ability to create the optimal conditions for every player in our system to train, play and excel, ultimately driving their development and performance to the highest level.”
As Technical Director, Cartlidge will oversee all club coaches as well as the club's medical and performance staff. He will work closely with those groups to ensure the club’s philosophy, game model, coaching methodology and club curriculum are aligned and consistently implemented throughout the system from the Futures Program to the first team. Cartlidge will continue to oversee the club's High Potential Player (HPP) development pathway and will remain the key club representative on all MLS coach education and development matters.
In his role as Director of Player Personnel, Crookham will continue to have oversight of Rapids 2 and will be responsible for enhancing the technical environment for all players and technical staff across all teams. Operations, preseason planning, player support, loan management and contract processing will all fall under his remit. He will also continue to support the club’s recruitment, leading the Rapids’ annual MLS SuperDraft process.
Cartlidge, Crookham and Taylor have all signed new contracts with the club through the 2026 MLS season.
Additionally, Andrew Kewley has been appointed Academy Director, taking over from Cartlidge, and James Roeling has been promoted to Assistant Director of Player Personnel.
“Brian and Chris have consistently delivered outstanding results in their previous roles, and these promotions are well-earned recognitions of their expertise and contributions,” said Smith. “Their leadership and knowledge will greatly enhance the experience of our players, coaches and support staff and elevate our club as a whole. I’m thrilled that Fran has agreed to extend his contract with us and that Brian and Chris will join him as pivotal members of our front office team. Together, we have a talented and dynamic group that is well-positioned to achieve success both now in the years to come.”
