New York Red Bulls Fire Head Coach Mike Petke

The New York Red Bulls have confirmed that they've parted ways with head coach Mike Petke, per the team's official website.

Assistant Robin Fraser has also been removed from the technical staff page of the club's site. 

Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer claims that the Red Bulls are lining up Jesse Marsch as the new coach. Marsch's last job was with the Montreal Impact in the club's first season in MLS.

The always reliable Taylor Twellman has since confirmed Martinez's report:

Original Text

The New York Red Bulls have fired head coach Mike Petke, per Kristian Dyer of Metro New York:

According to Dyer, sporting director Ali Curtis sacked Petke after a meeting at Red Bull Arena. Goal.com's Ives Galarcep believes that the club's reasoning was due to a disagreement between management and the coach:

Regardless, the move still comes as a surprise. Petke claimed the Supporters' Shield in 2013, which is the only trophy the club has won since the rebrand.

He also helped guide the Red Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals this year. They lost to the New England Revolution 4-3 on aggregate. 

There's also a rumor involving one of Petke's assistants, Robin Fraser, departing New York for Toronto FC, which was also reported by Dyer on Big Apple Soccer.

French legend Thierry Henry retired in December, so the Red Bulls were set to undergo a few changes in the offseason. It appears as if finding a new coach is now at the top of the agenda.

This news is just the latest saga involving teams in the city that never sleeps. Frank Lampard extended his loan with Manchester City, sparking outrage from New York City FC fans.

As Sirius XM's Nicolino DiBenedetto points out, it's safe to assume that commissioner Don Garber didn't picture this debacle when he approved the formation of another New York club.

There have been reports of Red Bull wanting to sell the team, but Garber immediately rejected those claims in October, via MLSSoccer.com.

It will be hard to replace a man of Petke's qualities. He was clearly beloved by the supporters, especially after the success he's had as both a player and coach.