Sarkisian Warns Of Sideline Communication Blackouts During Trump Visit
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian says his staff must prepare for sudden headset communication failures when President Donald Trump attends Saturday's game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Sarkisian told reporters Thursday that coach-to-coach and coach-to-player radio connections are routinely cut whenever the president enters, exits or relocates within a stadium, with no advance warning.
"Any time he enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication," Sarkisian said during a Zoom call. "They cut your headsets. They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out." The disruption threatens both sides of Texas' operation: defensive coordinator Will Muschamp relays play calls from the sideline, while Sarkisian communicates directly with quarterback Arch Manning. iran super league basketball
To prepare, Sarkisian consulted Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, who dealt with the same issue during the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Indiana. "Last year, when they were playing Indiana in the national championship, they had that drive at the end of the game; they had no communication because he was leaving early before the game ended," Sarkisian said. "You get no warning; it just cuts out. You have to be prepared for that." Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, whose team won that title game, confirmed a brief outage occurred earlier in the fourth quarter - around the seven-minute mark, affecting two or three plays, including a touchdown handoff to Malachi Toney with 6:37 remaining. Cignetti disputed social media claims that the blackout affected Miami's final offensive drive, and the White House Rapid Response account also denied that Trump's departure caused communication issues on that possession.
Sarkisian said the uncertainty over timing - whether Trump arrives early, leaves mid-game or simply steps away - leaves coaching staffs with no choice but to build in contingency plans. "You've got to be prepared to have no communication for a short amount of time," he said. Texas faces Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
