The “Merritt” System
Who can remember the earliest days of college? I remember my first English Lit class. The words rolled off the professor’s tongue. “Everyone starts with an A – we are on the merit system here”. So my first though was “Excuse me? What? Did you say Everyone? Even Me” This was such a profound statement that I’d never heard before. His strategy was that we would reduce down from that A through action or inaction. Talk about a unique style for a Merit system. Once I understood this, I cruised through the course with a B.
Our Chiefs have been so blessed with a Meritt System that seems to work year after year, but many may need help understanding how this works. I don’t mean to infer that Andy Reid gives everyone an A; what I mean is to bring to light our talented defensive backs coach, Dave Merritt. Chiefs fans hear alot about coach Reid and our Defensive coach Steve Spagnuolo for good reason, these guys are proven winners. One guy on this staff who doesn’t appear to get enough press is our DB wizard Dave Merritt.
Dave Merritt came to Kansas City by way of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, but, in fact, he mostly started with the New York Giants, where he coached from 2001 to 2017. In fact, on the Chiefs coaching staff Dave Merritt has more Super Bowl rings (5), then all other coaches. Merrit’s background is that, along with Steve Spanuolo, he piloted the Giant’s defense past the New England Patriots to win Super Bowls, except in Merrit’s case, he did it twice vs. Spags, who did it one time.
Merritt is a humble man of faith with a wife and five Children. His strong family values are evident in how he teaches and coaches our young secondary, and you can hear his strength and calm demeanor during his interviews. He arrived in Kansas City in 2019, just 2 weeks after Spags was named Defensive Coordinator, which I’m sure is no coincidence. Clearly, he was an early call by Spags to join the Chiefs. At the time, the Chiefs had just lost to the Patriots in the AFC title game. The Patriots at the time seemed to be in the way of future Chiefs Championships, so who is the best to call, but the guy who was a proven Patriot stopper?
With Merritt and Spags in place, the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV over the 49ers 31-20. This game was won largely by sound defensive play. In Merritt’s time in Kansas City, we saw exceptional secondary play by pro-bowler Tyrann Mathieu. Chavarius Ward, Lajarius Sneed, and most recently, Trent Mcduffie. Merritt, in short, is a defensive secondary maker.
The most recent newbie who is playing exceptionally is a 2d-year pro, Chamarri Conner. Conner has seemingly come out of nowhere to make important contributions to the Chiefs this year. In the last game vs. the Falcons, Conner once again turned in a great play by intercepting a pass that led to a score for the Chiefs. In looking at all of the successful defensive plays we’ve seen over the past 6 years, you might conclude it’s all Spags. – Deservedly, Spags should get credit, but looking a little deeper, we might find another gem propping up these Chiefs and their solid defense is the quiet man of faith who executes his job working with young Chief defenders, and that’s the guy leading the defensive Merritt system. This defense deserves the A.
It would be near impossible to expect that Merritt, with all of his success, would remain in Kansas City as our best-kept secret after the Super Bowl win over the 49ers their first in 50 years. In fact, the 49ers came calling to offer Merritt a chance to lead their Defense after the Chiefs defeated them. Thankfully Merritt declined for this run for a 3-peat. As we look forward to the upcoming schedule, there will be ample time to watch Merritt mold our young secondary and see who is next to step up. My money’s on Jaden Hicks, Let’s Go!