Travis Kelce has changed into a ‘different man’ since he and Taylor Swift have started dating, claims Dave Merritt – the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive backs coach.

Appearing on last week’s episode of ‘The Sports Shop Podcast with Reese & K-Mac,’ Merritt, 52, said that he believed the 12-time Grammy Award-winning singer’s presence at games last season ‘added’ another layer to the Chiefs’ ultimate objective of becoming the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the 2004 Patriots.

‘She actually affected the team in a positive way,’ Merritt said, at first. ‘Everybody was excited and Travis was happy.

‘So when my players, a brother is happy beside me, that helps me and that encourages me and so Travis came in there a different man. So, she helped us.’

Merritt, who’s been with the Chiefs since 2019, added that all players on the team  were immediately supportive of the couple’s relationship from the start, despite it being a potential distraction.

Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt lauded Taylor Swift for changing TE Travis Kelce

Merritt believes that Kelce’s improved happiness helped the team properly their playoff form

‘There were so many people that were hating the fact that she was being shown on the TV that, you know what? You’re part of our family because you’re with Travis,’ Merritt said.

‘So, therefore, you’re our little sister… You’re part of our family.’

Merritt also shared that Swift first came to stadiums ‘privately’ before her romance with Kelce went public.

‘She was coming into the stadiums without people really knowing until the camera put a big spotlight on it,’ he said.

Merritt also jokingly gave the popstar some credit for winning a Super Bowl in her first year in the NFL, referring to Kansas City’s overtime Super Bowl victory against the San Francisco 49ers, earlier this month.

Kelce and Swift showed plenty of PDA during the postseason, first after the Chiefs’ AFC win, then at the Super Bowl

Swift, who is currently in Singapore as part of her ‘Eras’ Tour, secretly started dating Kelce last summer, but didn’t show up at a Chiefs game until they faced the Chicago Bears on Sept. 24.

The ‘You Belong with Me’ hitmaker attended a total of 13 Chiefs games last season, including one in New York, and made out with her hunky beau after Kansas City beat the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game, last month.

They locked lips once more after Kelce earned his third Super Bowl ring on Feb. 11.

Kelce has been supportive of his girlfriend by showing up to her concerts in Sydney, Australia, last week, and in Argentina, last November.