NBCNow that it's official, it's time to monologue about it!
After Wednesday's announcement that Jay Leno is retiring from The Tonight Show and will be replaced by Late Night's Jimmy Fallon in February 2014, both late-night hosts addressed the switchup during their respective monologues.
"I'm going to be taking over The Tonight Show next February," Fallon said during his opening monologue. "But don't worry. Until February, our focus is right here on whatever this show is called." But it wasn't all jokes as both men took time to congratulate and thank one another.
"I want to congratulate our good friend Jimmy Fallon! He is a hell of a guy! He's going to do a great job," Leno gushed before making a joke about NBC's declining ratings. "I just have one request for Jimmy: We've all fought, kicked, and scratched to get this network up to fifth place, now we have to keep it there! Jimmy, don't let it slip into sixth! We are counting on you! We're counting on you, Jimmy!"
As for Fallon, he thanked his predecessor saying, "I want to thank everyone here at Late Night, the staff, the crew and, of course, The Roots. I have to say thanks to Jay Leno for being so gracious. It means so much to me to have his support. I just want to thank the fans for staying up to 12:35 a.m. and watching us."
But Fallon shouldn't get too comfortable just yet, as Leno joked, "Things move so quickly. Jimmy hasn't even taken over yet and the rumors have already started...like NBC says in five years they plan to replace Jimmy with Justin Bieber!"
Leno also worked in a playful dig at David Letterman, who expressed his surprise over Leno's retirement in his monologue, saying, "I had a really awkward day today. I had to call David Letterman and tell him he didn't get The Tonight Show again. Awful! Terrible!"
Leno also shared his future employment plans, telling the crowd, "I accepted a new position; I am going to be the head basketball coach at Rutgers University!"
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)