1st Year as Assistant Football Coach – Defensive Line Coach
Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida
College(s): Jackson State University
Jason Mercier enters his first season on the coaching staff for Dodge City football, serving as an assistant coach overseeing the defensive line he joined the staff in January of 2026.
Mercier made his way to Dodge City after serving as a graduate assistant coach at Northeastern State University, working with outside linebackers and defensive ends during the 2025 season. He was part of a defensive staff that helped the team go from giving up 35.7 points per game in 2024 to 18.5 ppg in 2025. The Northeastern defense set a program record with 22 interceptions while improving in other ways as team went 9-3, winning its first postseason win since 1999 and recording the most wins since 2010.
Coaching career started for Mercier at the high school level at Palm Beach Central High School in Florida from 2022 to 2024, helping the program win multiple district and regional titles.
The Florida native played at the NCAA Division I before getting into coaching, suiting up for Florida International University (FIU) from 2018 to 2021, and then finished his college career at Jackson State in 2022 under Coach Deion Sanders. Playing on the defensive line, he capped his college career with 21 tackles in the 2022 season, helping Jackson State go 12-1, win a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, and play in the Celebration Bowl. Prior to his season with Jackson State, he played four seasons for the FIU Panthers, amassing 87 tackles, three sacks, eight tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. His freshman season (2018) saw him earn Conference USA All-Freshman team honors after recording 31 tackles that season. He was part of multiple bowl teams during his time at FIU, including the Camellia Bowl in 2019 and the Bahamas Bowl in 2018, as he played for Coach Butch Davis.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in multi-/Interdisciplinary studies from Jackson State University.
