Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs assistant Dave Merritt avoids NFL discipline after domestic battery case falls apart

Kansas City Chiefs assistant Dave Merritt will not face discipline from the NFL after a domestic battery case against him was dismissed in May.The decision closes the league side of a case that began in April, when Merritt was charged after being accused of causing bodily harm to his daughter.

Merritt pleaded not guilty, the case was later dismissed, and the NFL has now reportedly found insufficient evidence that he violated its personal conduct policy.

Why the NFL is not disciplining Kansas City Chiefs assistant Dave Merritt

The NFL can discipline coaches and players even when criminal cases do not lead to convictions. That did not happen here. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the league found insufficient evidence of a personal conduct policy violation. That finding allows Merritt to continue his work with Kansas City without a suspension or other league punishment.Merritt was charged in April with misdemeanor domestic battery. The charge came after an allegation that he caused bodily harm to his daughter. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed in May.

The dismissal mattered, but it did not automatically end the NFL’s review. The league has its own personal conduct policy process, and it can act even when the legal system does not move forward. In Merritt’s case, the NFL reviewed the matter and did not find enough evidence to impose discipline.

That distinction is important. Merritt was not suspended because the league reportedly did not find sufficient evidence under its policy. The case being dismissed in court was one step. The NFL’s decision was another.For Kansas City, the result removes a potential staff issue before the season. Merritt has been the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach since 2019 and remains part of one of the NFL’s most stable coaching staffs.

Dave Merritt remains with the Chiefs after a case that could have followed him into the season

Merritt’s football résumé is not small, which is part of why the case drew attention. The 54-year-old has coached defensive backs for the Chiefs since 2019. Before Kansas City, he worked for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and New York Jets. He also spent time as a college assistant coach.Merritt entered coaching after a brief NFL playing career. The Miami Dolphins selected him in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL Draft, and he later moved into coaching after his playing days ended.

The timing of the charge also put the Chiefs in a difficult spot. It came in April, during the NFL Draft window, when teams are building rosters and preparing rookies for offseason work. Kansas City still had to let the legal process play out before the league reached its own conclusion.Now, Merritt is free to resume coaching without NFL discipline attached to the case. That does not erase why the situation received attention. Domestic battery allegations are serious, and the NFL has disciplined personnel in past cases even when criminal proceedings did not result in charges or convictions. But in this case, the court case was dismissed in May, and the NFL reportedly determined there was not enough evidence to punish Merritt under the personal conduct policy.For the Chiefs, that means one less unresolved issue around the coaching staff. For Merritt, it means his legal case and league review are both behind him as Kansas City moves forward.