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Carson Palmer is changing the landscape of high school football as the head coach of Santa Margarita.
Palmer and his son, Fletch Palmer, joined Tarek Fattal of CBS LA, and told him that coaching high school football is where he’s supposed to be.
“I didn’t know that this opportunity was going to happen. Once I got here and have been here, I realized this is where I’m supposed to be. This is where God wants me. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Carson Palmer said. “This is a really special institution and a special place.”
I sat down with Santa Margarita’s Carson Palmer and his son Fletch Palmer (the team’s QB) for CBS-LA.
After Phillip Rivers just made the jump from HSFB to NC State (his alma mater), I asked Carson about making the same jump to USC, which many think is a real possibility. pic.twitter.com/tUTgvsKHJl
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) November 11, 2026
Before Carson Palmer was winning the Heisman Trophy, National Championships at USC, and going on to spend 14 years in the NFL, Palmer was a star quarterback at Santa Margarita.
Now returning to his alma mater as the head coach, he has created one of the best high school football programs in the country.
Under Carson Palmer’s guidance, the Eagles are 21-3, and are the reigning CIF Southern Section Division 1 Champions, as well as the CIF Open Division State Champions.
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While the rest of the CIF is bracing to compete against each other for the opening round of playoffs this week, Division 1 teams earn an automatic bye.
Santa Margarita picked up where it left off this season by finishing the regular season with a 10-0 record, which included wiping out the fierce Trinity League.
“Having the opportunity to have gone here, played here, and now come back and be here is an incredible experience,” Carson Palmer said. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Carson Palmer received a lot of backlash in August, when he announced that his son would be the starting quarterback over senior Vanderbilt commit, Matthew Smith, but the junior quarterback proved the naysayers wrong.
According to MaxPreps, Fletch Palmer finished the regular season throwing for 1,501 yards, with 11 touchdowns, and a 65.2 completion percentage.
According to 247 Sports, Fletch Palmer only has one offer to keep his football career beyond high school, as San Diego State has offered him. But given he has one more year of availability, he should expect to hear from more colleges.
The Eagles will look to defend their title when they take on San Clemente in the opening round of playoffs.
