Chaos Is A Ladder

Chris Coleman | Lead Analyst and Columnist

November 05, 2025

There’s a lot of chaos in college football this year, isn’t there? More big head-coaching jobs came open early than in any previous season, and it’s causing fans of the affected schools to all go a little bit mad. Maybe it’s not so bad for those who fired their coaches in October or will fire them in November, but for those of us who made the move way back in September, nearly two months ago, the wait can be incredibly frustrating.

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46 Comments

HokieLF1 November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM

Franklin #1, Chesney #2. JMU is impressive on both sides of the ball and makes great halftime adjustments.
Bayside Hokie November 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM

Great update! I needed that.
VTexas November 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM

You have written many, many very good articles here for TSL, Chris. I think this is your best piece of literature yet.Thank you and Bravo!
1. middletennhokie November 6, 2025 at 9:19 AM
  
  Agree, you've outdone yourself Chris.
2. CaryHokie85 November 6, 2025 at 9:57 AM
  
  Great article but if Franklin can’t beat a top 10 school at Penn State how in hell is going to do that at tech?
  1. Born a Hokie November 6, 2025 at 10:13 AM
    
    Beating a top 10 Miami, Clemson, or Florida State, or the ACC flavor of the year is a lot easier than a top 10 Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Texas in my opinion.
  2. Joersimmons November 7, 2025 at 7:35 AM
    
    Hokies can't beat (*looks around)...Old Dominion, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota, etc. I think the program needs to worry about winning games supposed to win and get program back on track. Then worry about beating a Top 10 ACC foe. Which currently their is none.
    1. Clark1 November 8, 2025 at 8:08 AM
      
      Well, well put!!!
  3. mwills98 November 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
    
    Hey now, how quickly we forgot our Co-championship season of 2015 with the big win over the mighty OSU. With the right players and some decent coaching…on any given Saturday. Like was just written a couple days ago, you are usually not quite as far away as it may seem. There are a lot of Hokies playing on Sundays and will be more down the road.
Sheign November 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM

Great article Chris. Enjoy your work.
VPI4Life November 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM

I don’t care for Franklins personality, but i think he is our best choice, and would support him being our coach. If that fails, then my feeling is to turn to Chesney, pay a lower salary, and take the money and buy players. In my opinion, today’s environment rewards portal entries more than recruiting. You only have to look to Hooville to see how this can work. Elliot didn’t all of a sudden become a good coach.
1. teaysvalleyhokie November 6, 2025 at 10:54 AM
  
  Paraphrasing what others have said, it's a lot like hiring Buzz Williams or Seth Greenberg in basketball. They were winners, and their personalities definitely clashed with the old school people in the athletic department. I suspect Franklin would be a lot like that.
sideline guy November 5, 2025 at 6:27 PM

Sometimes you don’t get what you want, but you get what you need .
MotorCityHokie80 November 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM

Excellent article. Well thought out. I do wonder why Franklin would want to coach at a SEC school such as Arkansas or Auburn if he is interested in making the playoffs and vying for a national title. In the SEC you have to go through Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU. This is murderers row. In the ACC I think the competition is not as keen.
eokhokie November 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM

This is my take. Fire the committee and take a poll of tsl posters and hire #1 on their list. That way all negative posts will be stopped for at least two years.
1. govt86 November 5, 2025 at 8:42 PM
  
  All? Ha, no way. You underestimate the ease of negative posting on the internet. See? ?
133222Hokie November 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM

Good sensible article. Maybe I need to bite my tongue and accept that Franklin might be a good fit for VT. It has been a tough 10 years since we played Clemson for the ACC Championship in 2016. It is also the last time we beat ND and as Chris pointed out, ND went 4-8 that year. Keep up the excellent journalism @ TSL. Where is Monday Thoughts by Will??
Austin Gobbler November 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM

I just hit the F5 key!
1. VTexas November 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
  
  I did too. I'm waiting........
  1. chagerma November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
    
    On mac, it's a screen refresh.
NMB Hokie November 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM

Very good article. Reality is we don't know who we will hire or how it will work out. We can just provide support and hope for the best.
7Hokie1 November 5, 2025 at 4:21 PM

I'm 77 & have to hope that whoever we hire can turn things around quickly. I'm too have to endure another long term rebuild. I would be very happy with Franklin.
1. OlderHokie November 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM
  
  I'll be 77 in December. I would prefer quick improvements too. At least we were both privileged to have watched Tech in the Beamer days!
  1. Two4VT November 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
    
    I turned 55 today, and won't make it to 77 if I have to endure losing seasons :)
  2. Bon Air Hokie November 5, 2025 at 5:43 PM
    
    75 here and longing for that feeling that we could beat anyone again.
2. jfhokie November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
  
  I'm 70 and been watching Tech football for sixty years and think Franklin would be ok but like Chesney. Would love to see another 1999 season
HtownHokie November 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM

thanks CC for this, another, insightful article. these are chaotic times that match no others I’ve seen in 62 years of following college football. and for VT, positively expectant while precariously perilous. let’s hope it turns out that we climb up several steps with this decision (and our other associated pending decisions) and sustain that vector, with increasing separation from/rising above Pres. Jeff’s hoooo’s for the decades ahead. whatever will you and the the TSL team find to write about once the decisions are made?
HokiesChemicals November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM

Good read and great job putting Franklin's PSU career in the context of JoePa's. FWIW, Mike London won the FCS Natty at UR with Dave Clawson's players.
dobrohokie November 5, 2025 at 3:56 PM

In management, there is the Chaos Theory, which is: 1. What will happen will be unexpected. 2. It will happen in a different way than you thought. 3. It will happen at a different time than you thought. I could have used your ladder analogy when I was teaching managers and supervisors!
RustyHokie94 November 5, 2025 at 3:54 PM

That's Littlefinger from Game of Thrones!
1. Will Stewart November 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
  
  Yes, indeed! https://youtube.com/shorts/MwpPSnOFO6Y?si=qZ6prCGVwKR2Y0EM
pgaiser1 November 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM

well said Chris
cdogvt November 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM

Excellent article and could turn of a phrase.
TomTurkey November 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM

Who said from chaos comes order? The quote, or a variation of it, is attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche. While the exact phrasing "out of chaos comes order" is widely used, his related idea is captured in his statement, "one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star". This suggests that creativity and new order can arise from a state of inner or external chaos. - Howard Johnson in 'Blazing Saddles'
1. ancient alien 2018 November 5, 2025 at 4:06 PM
  
  LOL Don't forget David Huddleston's response!!
  1. jfhokie November 6, 2025 at 9:28 AM
    
    Ah blowit out your a** Howard
2. fahnesbr November 5, 2025 at 6:50 PM
  
  Nietzsche to Blazin Saddles. Bravo
kingofcassell November 5, 2025 at 3:07 PM

Good stuff.
MKD November 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM

Nice article Chris.
bikeride November 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM

Great article, I think, as many others have already stated, the driving force for an early acceptance, assuming that the offer matches his needs, will be a jump on staff selection, talent evaluation, and recruiting. We will also allow him to take a little time off and not have to worry about this.
1. Freddyburg Hokie November 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
  
  But what can delay that acceptance, or at least the signing and announcement (thus the "officialness" of the acceptance), could be the desire to make contact with as many players as he wants to entice to come along, as once he is officially the head coach of another football program he's not allowed to contact them outside of the portal. I hope that's what's going on right now. I really do. Something that we would absolutely rail against were it happening to us the other way (and did, with Brent Williams in hoops), but I would welcome at this point in time. I want a tiger on the recruiting trail, and if delaying the signing/announcement for a few days will let him get a few hundred steps ahead of the competition, then I'm all for it.
  1. FOREVT November 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
    
    1000%. Would love to see VT learn to play the subterfuge game.
Aero81Hokie November 5, 2025 at 2:48 PM

Thanks for the perspective. You did all that without saying take a breath. Clever last line. ?
VaTaz November 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM

Well worth the read…I love a dose of reality.
Grayman53 November 5, 2025 at 2:43 PM

Love your article. Puts everything into perspective.Makez the rough seas a lot more calm. Thanks Chris!
truhoky November 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM

Thanks Chris. Always our calming voice in a sea of chaos.

Chaos Is A Ladder

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