On 31 December, the out-of-work David Moyes was collecting an OBE in the New Year Honours list for his services to football.
After receiving the gong, Moyes said in an interview with BBC Sport he did not want to be "at the bottom of the league and fighting relegation".
The football world moves fast and two weeks on, that is exactly what he has signed up for at Everton.
Former boss Sean Dyche was sacked in brutal fashion and though Moyes said he was not looking for a return to club management, he described Everton as a "different beast" and the chance to return to Goodison Park was "too big an opportunity to turn down".