Carson Palmer was once a star quarterback at the University of Southern California when it had its dominant teams of the early 2000s, and he became moderately successful during a long NFL career that saw him get named to the Pro Bowl three times.
After retiring for good following the 2017 season, he made a brief foray into the business advocacy field, but he will now have a new role at an old place.
Per Eric Sondheimer, he has been named the new football coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, his alma mater, in Orange County, Calif.
Former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer is the new football coach at Santa Margarita, Sam Farmer reports. His son was a freshman quarterback in the program. Played at Santa Margarita and USC. Joins the tough Trinity League coaching fraternity.
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 12, 2024
It was at Santa Margarita where Palmer started to prove he could be special, as he led the school to back-to-back CIF championships.
He then moved on to join the Trojans, and in 2002, his senior season there, he threw for 3,942 yards and 33 touchdowns and won the Heisman Trophy while leading them to a win in the Orange Bowl over the University of Iowa.
In that game, he completed 21 of 31 pass attempts for 303 yards and a touchdown, earning him MVP honors.
Palmer was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, and in his third season, he led them to their first playoff appearance in 15 years, but once there, he suffered a severe knee injury.
He rebounded from that injury to make the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2015 while becoming the first QB to throw 4,000 yards in a season with three different teams.
Palmer will now have the opportunity to teach the game and mold young minds and bodies back where it all started for him.
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