It was a crying shame it ended the way it did, but the board of directors ultimately made the right call in bringing the curtain down on the Derek McInnes era at Pittodrie.
If anything, they should probably have done it a few weeks earlier, but his overall record swayed them and they felt he deserved longer to try to turn things around.
He was unable to do so and the dismal run continued, leaving Dave Cormack with no real option.
Over the piece, there is no question that Derek did a very good job.
When he took over, the club was not in a happy place despite the stabilising work done by Craig Brown.
The new man quickly lifted the club as he began to assemble what would become the best Dons side in a couple of decades.
There were plenty memorable moments along the way.
The League Cup final triumph in 2014 is clearly at the top of the list, followed closely by some excellent results in Europe in the first few years of his reign.
My other main highlights are the win at Celtic Park which clinched second place in 2018, the semi-final beating of Rangers at Hampden in October of that year, the Scottish Cup victory at Ibrox the following March and the nail-biting 4-3 epic at Rugby Park in February of last year.
For a couple of seasons, Derek pushed Celtic in the title race.
In 2014-15 he might have gone all the way had he been able to strengthen as Celtic did in the January transfer window.
The following season he began with eight straight wins and hopes were high, but the side collapsed in the late autumn and ran out of steam.
The 2016-17 season was the most enjoyable I have seen as an Aberdeen supporter since the early 1990s.
With Graeme Shinnie anchoring the midfield, Kenny McLean and Ryan Christie ahead of him, Niall McGinn and Jonny Hayes in top form and Adam Rooney deadly in front of goal, the Dons were an absolute joy to watch.
They scored seven times against Motherwell and Dundee, six against Partick Thistle and finished the season with record-breaking hauls of 76 points and 74 goals.
The problem was always going to be keeping that team together and it fell apart too quickly.
Hayes and Christie left, Rooney fell out of favour, Ryan Jack went to Rangers and soon after McLean and Shinnie also departed.
Replacing those talents was never going to be easy and Derek failed to unearth the gems he needed to.
There have been some very good signings in the last few years – the likes of Sam Cosgrove, Lewis Ferguson and Ross McCrorie – but too many transfers simply haven’t worked out, some of them proving extremely costly, and the exciting, attacking football of a few years ago is a fading, distant memory.
Emotions are high right now, and the last few months have, understandably, coloured how many fans feel about Derek. But I would hope that in the fulness of time they will take a more balanced view.
For the largest part of his reign Derek McInnes was an excellent Aberdeen manager and he deserves to be remembered for that.
Different favourite almost every day
Inevitably, within minutes of the news breaking, thoughts were already turning to who should be the next Dons boss.
Lists drawn up by the bookies were populated by a mixture of the usual suspects and a few left-field candidates, but Dave Cormack will take time to review his options and no appointment is imminent.
One name that piques my interest is Darren Fletcher, but his promotion at Old Trafford this week probably rules the former Scotland captain out of the running.
Of the more established names, Jim Goodwin and Neil Lennon would be my top picks.
Jim recently signed a new deal at St Mirren, but that wouldn’t be an issue if both parties wanted it, while Neil is free and would, I am sure, be interested.
Given his track record with Celtic and Hibs it would be a thrilling ride with Lennon in charge.
There seems to be a different frontrunner almost every day. It will be an intriguing few weeks until Cormack makes his decision.