Pablo Mastroeni has been fired in his fourth season as coach of the Rapids with 12 games remaining in the season, the club announced Tuesday. Assistant coach Steve Cooke will take over as interim coach.

The Rapids are 6-12-4 this season and are in next-to-last place in the Western Conference. Under Mastroeni’s leadership, the Rapids went 38-51-35 and finished last or next to last every season except 2016, when they finished second at 15-6-13, defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the playoffs and reached the Western Conference finals.

“We would like to thank Pablo for his contributions to this organization, both as a player and as head coach,” said Rapids sporting director and interim general manager Pádraig Smith. “He has been dedicated to the growth of this club for over 15 years and played an instrumental role in many of our successes. Unfortunately, we have fallen short of our expectations, and this decision was taken in the best interest of the players and the organization as a whole.”

A fiery fan favorite in his 13 seasons as a Rapids midfielder, Mastroeni became the team’s interim coach in January 2014 after Oscar Pareja abruptly left the team to take over at FC Dallas. Mastroeni guided the 2014 team through the preseason and was named head coach a week before the season despite never having coached before.

Mastroeni played for the Rapids from 2002-12 before being traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2013. He retired that year. A defensive midfielder, Mastroeni was Rapids team captain from 2004 until his departure to Los Angeles. He made 65 appearances for the U.S. national team and is on the ballot this year in voting for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Cooke, a graduate of Carnegie College in England, has a 20-year history of coaching. He initially came to Colorado to work with the Rapids’ development academy, but when Pareja became head coach in 2012, he asked Cooke to help coach the first team. He has been a first-team assistant since.

Mastroeni was not immediately available for comment.

On Thursday, the club will host a live online question-and-answer session for fans and media with Smith via YouTube, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Rapids under Pablo Mastroeni

2014: 8-18-8 second to last in Western Conference

2015: 9-15-10 last in Western Conference

2016: 15-6-13 second in Western Conference

2017: 6-12-4 second to last with 12 games remaining