In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method for controlling a position of a bleed valve of a gas turbine engine. The onset of an off-load transient may be determined. Values representative of the turbine rotor inlet temperature and the exhaust outlet temperature may be determined. Also, the amount of time elapsed since the onset of the off-load transient may be determined. Three provisional bleed valve command positions may be determined based on value representative of the turbine rotor inlet temperature, the value representative of the exhaust outlet temperature, and the amount of time elapsed, respectively. The provisional bleed valve command position associated with the lowest relative value may be selected. Then, the bleed valve position may be adjusted to match the selected bleed valve command position.