As the Tuscaloosa airport scene on Friday night showed, Alabama's achievement of head football coach is reason enough for a mass celebration.
After Nick Saban's retirement, Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer from Washington on Friday afternoon.
On Friday night, DeBoer's private plane touched down in Tuscaloosa. By the tarmac, a mass of jubilant Crimson Tide supporters had gathered to welcome him.
Signs that read "DeBoer says Roll Tide," "Welcome home coach," and "Are you my new daddy?" were among the few that they held.
The crowd went wild as soon as DeBoer disembarked from the plane, marking his official debut as coach of the Crimson Tide. The two of them then exchanged high-fives while separated by a chain-link fence.
It was a sign of the strain DeBoer would feel while replacing a legend, and it was also a rock star welcome that DeBoer probably never encountered in his two seasons in Seattle.
Alabama has some of the highest expectations in collegiate athletics, if not the highest. After a 17-year run as Alabama's head coach—during which time the Crimson Tide won six national championships—DeBoer takes over.
It won't be a picnic for him. Not to mention that he has a checkered past. The payoff, though, will be substantial if DeBoer is successful.