By "shut the gates behind them" I just meant their work load might become predominately support related from then on.

My feeling is that companies might find it hard to recruit suitably skilled people for some support roles. Describing a role as "DevOps" might tempt people to apply who would otherwise shy away from support.

I'm sure DevOps roles can be very rewarding. I like the idea.

But I also know some support roles are not for everyone.