Heisman winner and former No. 1 NFL draft pick appointed as Santa Margarita high school football HC

Carson Palmer, former NFL quarterback, is back at Santa Margarita High School as its new coach. Palmer graduated from the school in 1998 but accomplished a lot during his time with the program. Palmer finished high school with back-to-back CIF titles and All-CIF State honors.

However, this will be a new test for the former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback. He will be in charge of a high school team for the first time and will also have his son, Fletch Palmer, on the roster. Fletch is a freshman in the program and will be under his father's purview going forward.

"Coach Palmer was entrusted with the program as a player and now is entrusted as the program’s head coach," Santa Margarita VP of athletics Jim Hartigan, as per SI.

"We are in good hands. I’m excited to see Carson lead our team. He is a player-centric leader who will surround himself with coaches with the same desire to continue the success of Eagle football."

Palmer signed with the USC Trojans after completing his high school football and went on to become the Bengals' first overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft. He played for the Oakland Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals after that and hung up his cleats in 2018.

Santa Margarita endured a tough 2024 season

The Santa Margarita Eagles ended their 2024 campaign with a losing record of 5-7. The California-based high school is one of the best programs in the country and plays in one of the toughest football states in the nation. The Eagles compete with the likes of Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran and Servite.

The program was under the guidance of interim head coach Steve Fifita this season, but have moved on from him and have appointed former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer as his successor.

Palmer, who played for the Eagles in the late 90s, will be tasked to resurrect the team after a disappointing season. Santa Margarita suffered losses against some of the division's best programs such as Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

After a 3-1 start to the season, the Eagles dropped four consecutive games. The program has been enduring difficult seasons since the turn of the decade as they hold an overall record of 25-26 since 2020. Palmer will hope to bring them back on track and lead them to a state title.