The San Francisco 49ers are looking at a coach on the Kansas City Chiefs to potentially be their next defensive coordinator.
Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the 49ers are interviewing Chiefs defensive backs coach David Merritt. He helped coach the Chiefs’ secondary, which was a top-five unit in terms of passing defense this season.
The 49ers are looking for a new DC after they fired Steve Wilks in the wake of their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.
In addition to Merritt, the 49ers have also interviewed their defensive passing game specialist Nick Sorenson, defensive backs coach Daniel Bullock, and former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley.
Merritt has been with the Chiefs since 2019 and has had that same role throughout his tenure. Before that, he spent the 2018 season with the Arizona Cardinals as their defensive backs coach.
He also spent time with the New York Giants from 2004-17 and held a variety of roles. Merritt started as their defensive assistant and quality control coach before he was moved over to secondary and safeties coach.
He got his start in the NFL with the New York Jets in 2001 and was with them until 2003.