Let's talk about Dave Merritt.
For the last seven seasons, Merritt has served as a defensive backs coach under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for a team that's consistently considered a conference championship loss as an underachievement. In short, it's been a very, very good gig. But how much longer can that be considered the case?
It feels safe to say that the Chiefs are going to make changes this offseason. For Patrick Mahomes to sit at home in January is criminal, which leaves little doubt that organizational shifts are coming. Perhaps that comes with some staffing choices. That's definitely going to include tough roster decisions. Even Arrowhead Stadium has faced tough decisions this winter.
Back to Merritt. After a season like this one in K.C., the contented continuity (say that three times fast) has run out—or at least taken a one-year sabbatical—which brings a lot of questions to the surface. Steve Spagnuolo is being courted as a potential head coach, and K.C. may want to make some changes to its staff either way.
Merritt is well beyond the point of having deserved his own opportunity to lead a defense. But the choice to stay a positional coach for approximately two decades comes down to a family-first mentality. Just last January, Merritt was asked about his professional ambitions, and he said he's committed to seeing his children through school.
As Chiefs continuity finally shows cracks, longtime defensive backs coach Dave Merritt might want to rethink some things if opportunity knocks.
"One of the things that my wife, Yolanda, and I spoke about decades ago was that no matter what, I wasn’t going to pursue any kind of coordinating job while my kids were young," said Merritt. "The meaning being is the fact that I wanted to be there Friday night games. I wanted to be there on Saturday, if I could, to go to some games.
"When that time arrives, if I’m afforded a position to be able to even go interview, I will consult with my wife and then we will take the next step. But for right now, I’m focused on trying to be sure that I can be the best defensive coach I can be for my guys."
In the media session, Merritt goes on to say that he has two high school students at Blue Valley, and the timeline still has them both in school this season. But if changes are coming, is it possible that Merritt opens himself up to a promotion and works out a way to move his family over the course of time?
Former Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu even brought this up on a recent podcast appearance. When asked about Steve Spagnuolo's merits as a head coach (once again), Mathieu agreed with the question and also brought up Merritt as a deserving coordinator
"It just continues to kind of blow my mind. And in the same respect, guys like Dave Merritt, right? He's been a DB coach for 20 years. And I'm saying, when are they going to let him get his own one? Like, when are they going to let him get his own unit? Because I think both of those guys, I mean, they exceed way beyond their current roles. I think they could be head coaches and defensive coordinators."
Merritt has been at his current station for the last seven seasons, coaching under Spags and alongside Chiefs legend Emmitt Thomas for several of those years. Given the pipeline of successful development in K.C. over the years, from L'Jarius Sneed to Charvarius Ward, there's little doubt that multiple teams would be interested in Merritt as a potential coordinator.
Before joining the Chiefs, Merritt served as a secondary coach with the New York Giants for more than a decade. He also has experience coaching linebackers with the New York Jets before that, giving him a positional perspective from multiple levels. As a player, Merritt was a seventh-round selection by the Miami Dolphins as a linebacker out of N.C. State.
Is Merritt ready to take the mantle from Spags, if the opportunity is there? If not, has Merritt reached a point where he'd listen to other options? He's deserving of whatever comes his way, but to date, he's remained a loyal member of Andy Reid's staff. With all of the changes coming for 2026, it's safe to question whether or not Merritt will stay in place once again.