COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids are in danger of losing the coach who guided them to their first MLS championship last November because of a “relationship issue” between Gary Smith and the club’s technical director, Paul Bravo.

Smith’s contract expires at the end of this season, and he is satisfied with the financial terms of a deal the club has offered him, but he said the situation in the front office must improve for him to accept it.

“We need to be able to come to terms with what both of us are at the club, or we need to move on,” Smith said. “One of us does, anyway.”

Bravo is a former Rapids star, one of four former players enshrined in the club’s Gallery of Honor at Dick’s Sporting Goods Field. He oversees the team’s domestic and international scouting, the Rapids Youth Academy and supports the Rapids coaching staff in first team operations.

“Without going into a lot of details, there’s a lot of water gone under the bridge now with our decisions that have been made, choices that have come about, working environment and personalities,” Smith said. “And listen, I wouldn’t say it was totally Paul’s fault that we don’t get on. There has to be two sides to that story.

“The reality is that when people don’t work together well, you tend to miss out on certain things. Things fall through cracks.”

Asked about Smith’s comments, Bravo said, “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved in the last three seasons, and I’m confident that we’re all working in the same direction in terms of helping our club continue to grow and develop. Ever since my days as a Rapids player, I’ve always worked to do what is in the best interest of the club, and that remains my top priority.”

A forward for the Rapids from 1997-2001, Bravo is the club’s second-leading all-time scorer. He was named technical director in 2009 after two seasons as director of soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He also had assistant coaching jobs with the Galaxy, UCLA and the Rapids.

Managing director Jeff Plush, the man in charge of the club, said Smith has the final say on first-team players and that the conflict between Smith and Bravo is a “nuanced” problem, not a big issue.

“When you have a head coach and a technical director, they’re going to have differences of opinion on players,” Plush said. “When you’re sitting in my chair, that’s not a negative. When you can get really good, bright, hard-working people who care fundamentally about the club, a difference of opinion is not a negative thing. It’s ultimately my job to manage that.

“There’s nothing that makes me believe we won’t have a very strong working relationship for many years to come.”

Smith was hired as an assistant coach before the 2008 season and replaced Fernando Clavijo as an interim head coach with 11 games left in that season. The interim tag was removed in November of that year.

“If we can’t find some common ground and work together, I’m not shutting the door on that, but if we can’t and the ultimate answer is, ‘No, it doesn’t work,’ then there has to be a decision on one or the other,” Smith said. “It wouldn’t be right for the club, it wouldn’t work for me, the team wouldn’t be and couldn’t be as successful as possible. So that doesn’t fit into my plans.”

The Rapids have two regular season games remaining and host arch-rival Real Salt Lake Friday night.

John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com