The off-season of transition continued for the Galaxy on Monday with the promotion of former midfield captain Peter Vagenas to general manager.

Vagenas, 38, has been vice president of soccer operations and will continue in that role with the Galaxy, for whom he played from 2000-08. Before that, he starred at St. Francis High and UCLA.

He won four titles with the Galaxy — two MLS Cups (2002 and 2005) and two U.S. Open Cups (2001 and 2005). Vagenas also had stints with Seattle, Vancouver and Chivas USA before retiring in 2012.

“We’ve been preparing for transition for a number of years,” Galaxy President Chris Klein said. “Bruce (Arena) held two roles (coach and general manager) and we made the decision to separate the two roles.”

Klein confirmed that Arena had signed a two-year extension with the Galaxy, but U.S. Soccer inquired about Arena as a replacement for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who had been fired. Klein added that Arena did not have an out clause in the new contract.

“He said he was interested,” Klein said. “We allowed the conversation to happen. We signed him to an extension with the understanding that it (him leaving) would be a possibility.”

In Vagenas’ new role, he will oversee soccer activities of the Galaxy, Galaxy II and Galaxy Academy, including player acquisitions, scouting and management of the club’s coaching staffs.

Vagenas was hired as director of the Galaxy Academy in 2013.

“Being from Los Angeles and having invested much of my career into the growth of the LA Galaxy, I am extremely proud to continue with this great club,” Vagenas said. “I look forward to working with both our front office and coaching staff as we push to win championships while further aligning all of our operations within the LA Galaxy, LA Galaxy II and the LA Galaxy Academy.”

The next order of business for the Galaxy is finding a coach to replace Arena. Klein said the club wants to be “quick and efficient” with their search.

“We will speak with both internal and external candidates,” Klein said. “We want to hire someone familiar with our philosophy.

“We’re actively preparing for 2017 now. We know that a head coach has to be integrated in that process and needs to have a voice in that process. The sooner the better for us, and we expect to have a new coach in place before the New Year. You don’t replace a Bruce Arena, but we’re thankful for what he brought here and now we move onto the next phase.”

The leading candidate internally is Curt Onalfo, who has served as coach of Galaxy II since 2014. Onalfo has the MLS experience, having been an assistant with D.C. United and the Galaxy. He has coached the then-Kansas City Wizards and D.C. United.

Klein added he plans to ask for permission to reach out to other MLS coaches shortly. The search is based on domestic coaches, but he wouldn’t rule out interviewing a foreign candidate.

One name that was brought during the conference call was a familiar one in Sigi Schmid. Schmid, who coached the Galaxy from 1999-2004, was fired by the Seattle Sounders earlier this season.

Klein said the Galaxy has not spoken with Schmid.