Former Giants Assistant Coach Wouldn't Mind Returning to New York One Day
Former New York Giants secondary and safeties coach Dave Merritt has been with the Kansas City Chiefs since 2019 and has won three Super Bowls with Kansas City over that period, a reward most coaches would dream of achieving.
But for Merritt, as much as he's grateful for his opportunity with Andy Reid's staff, thoughts of one day returning to the Giants have crossed his mind.
During Super Bowl week, Merritt told Newsday about a brief encounter with Giants co-owner John Mara with whom the veteran coach had a quick conversation.
“I said it’s getting close to the time for me to come home,” Merrit recalled. “And he kind of looked at me and winked.”
Merritt started his coaching career in 2001 as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the New York Jets. He joined the Giants in 2004 as a defensive assistant and quality control coach under new head coach Tom Coughlin. He was promoted in 2006 to the Giants' secondary and safeties coaching position. He held the position for 14 years, including all of Coughlin's tenure and the two years of his successor, Ben McAdoo.
Merritt won two Super Bowls with the Giants in 2008 and 2011. He would stay with the Giants until 2018 when he accepted the defensive backs coaching position with the Arizona Cardinals.
But in reflecting on his NFL coaching journey, the former NFL linebacker always remembers how well the Giants treated him and how much New York feels like home, much like Kansas City does.
“If I go back to the Giants in any capacity, that would be a dream come true,” Merritt said. “But I will say this right now: What [Chiefs owner] Mr. [Clark] Hunt has done here and my feeling toward Kansas City is second to none. They are right there with the New York Giants in how they treat me and my family. It’s been great.”
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