This paper presents the design and multi-physics optimization of a novel multi-coil magnetorheological (MR) damper with a variable resistance gap (VRG-MMD). Enabling four electromagnetic coils (EMs) with individual exciting currents, a simplified magnetic equivalent circuit was presented and the magnetic flux generated by each voltage source passing through each active gap was calculated as vector operations. To design the optimal geometry of the VRG-MMD, the multi-physics optimization problem including electromagnetics and fluid dynamics has been formulated as a multi-objective function with weighting ratios among total damping force, dynamic range, and inductive time constant. Based on the selected design variables (DVs), six cases with different weighting ratios were optimized using Bound Optimization BY Quadratic Approximation (BOBYQA) technique. Finally, the vibration performance of the optimal VRG-MMD subjected to sinusoidal and triangle displacement excitations was compared to that of the typical multi-coil MR damper.