Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Dave Merritt was arrested on a domestic battery charge just one day before the 2026 NFL Draft, jail records have revealed.
Merritt, 54, was arrested at around 8:50pm local time in Overland Park, Kansas on Wednesday night and booked into the Johnson County jail around 10:25pm, according to records reviewed by The Daily Mail. The arrest occurred with less than 24 hours to spare before Thursday’s NFL Draft.
The coach has been accused of ‘unlawfully, knowingly, or recklessly’ causing bodily harm to a daughter, which constitutes a domestic violence offense. The charge is a Class B person misdemeanor.
Merritt was scheduled to appear Johnson County District Court at 2pm local time on Thursday. He does not currently have a listed attorney on the Johnson County District Court website.
The Daily Mail has sought comment with Chiefs spokespeople. Johnson County Sheriff’s Office spokespeople referred The Daily Mail’s request for further information to the arresting agency.
Merritt is married with five children, including one step child, according to his social media posts.
Chiefs defensive coach Dave Merritt on the Red Carpet before the Super Bowl Championship Ring Ceremony on June 15, 2023 at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri
Along with his sons, Kansas City Chiefs defensive back coach Dave Merritt, right, celebrates after a 31-20 victory in Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers on February 2, 2020
The five-time Super Bowl champion has worked as an assistant NFL coach since 2001
A well-respected defensive assistant who has worked in the NFL since 2001, Merritt has spent the past seven seasons with the Chiefs following 13 years with the New York Giants.
Between the two franchises, Merritt has worked on five Super Bowl-champion teams.
He’s also coached a number of Pro Bowl players, including Jackrabbit Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antrel Rolle and James Bradberry in New York, as well as Tyrann Mathieu and Trent McDuffie in Kansas City.
Currently, he’s being used a defensive backs coach in Kansas City, but he actually played linebacker at North Carolina State before becoming a seventh-round draft pick in 1993.
He played for the Miami Dolphins for one season before a three-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals. Merritt also had a stop with NFL Europe in 1997 before moving into coaching at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
