08/03/2026
Welcome Home, Coach Kaumeyer
Palomar College Athletics is proud to announce Thom Kaumeyer as the next head coach of Comets Football, and for longtime Palomar fans, this name might sound familiar.
Kaumeyer played safety for the Comets in the 1980s before transferring to the University of Oregon, where he earned All-Pac-10 honors, and later played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and New York Giants.
His coaching career began right here at Palomar. He joined the staff in 1991 and worked his way up to head coach by 1994, leading the Comets to an 8-3 season and a No. 18 national ranking. He returned in 1998 as defensive coordinator, sandwiched around two years running a football program in Tokyo.
From there, Kaumeyer built a résumé across the NFL (Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars), Power Five football (San Diego State, Tulane, University of Hawai'i), and international football in Japan, before most recently coaching at the high school level at Waianae and St. Louis School in Honolulu.
He succeeds Joe Early, who led the Comets program since 2002.
The Comets open the 2026 season on the road against Ventura College on Saturday, August 29, at 6 p.m.
Welcome home, Coach. Built for this. 🔴⚪️
