Derek McInnes had flirted with the exit door more than once during his time at Pittodrie.
Rangers and Sunderland have both come calling for his services in the past and on both occasions, after talking to the clubs and much deliberation, he opted to remain at Aberdeen.
But nothing is forever and while his stock was once so high it attracted admirers from Ibrox and the Stadium of Light, the Dons boss has been ushered out of the exit door.
More often than not managers move on for one of two reasons. They are either lured elsewhere or their time is up.
McInnes’ detractors will argue his time was up a while ago. Those who defend him will point to his track record and consistency during his time at Pittodrie.
But consistency is not enough. It is progress which keeps you in the helm at Aberdeen and the search is now underway from Dons chairman Dave Cormack for a new captain of the good ship AFC.
Four second place finishes, a third and two fourths point to a consistency which most fans in Scotland would give their right arm for. Add in four cup final appearances and one cup win, the League Cup success in 2014, not to mention another half dozen semi-final appearances and the departing Dons boss has a track record none of his peers would be unhappy with.
McInnes, with some justification, will be departing wondering just what he had to do but there will be an element among the Red Army who point to those fourth place finishes, which have been most recent, and what they perceive as a declining level of entertainment, as evidence it was a time for a changing of the guard.
Under McInnes Aberdeen’s turnover and day-to-day operations have sky-rocketed. His success and consistency on the field can be shown in clearly measureable terms.
The reward for that has been a bigger budget than any manager before him. With that budget, arguably the third best in the country, comes increased expectations and when they are not being met scrutiny inevitably follows.
That’s the nature of this business and McInnes knows that. After all, Aberdeen is not his first managerial rodeo.
The criticism that he failed to make the most of Rangers being out of the top flight of Scottish football is worthy of debate too and while he managed for a while to keep Aberdeen ahead of the Light Blues following their promotion to the Premiership there has been a sense of inevitability about what has come to pass since the Ibrox club got its act together.
Perhaps the sight of Rangers moving back to the top of the perch in the Premiership, and toppling a Celtic team which has been an immovable object for Aberdeen during McInnes’ tenure, has skewed the perception.
Certainly the critics calling for change to be made due to their belief the style of football had become too much to bear will be satisfied.
Whatever the reason, what is clear is a large enough section of the support want a change and Cormack, having initially given his backing to the under pressure manager, has seen enough to believe the improvements required are not materialising and it is time for change.
Cormack, and former chairman Stewart Milne before him, have stood by the Dons boss, knowing he has been more than a safe pair of hands. Those cup finals and regular qualification for European football have made the decision to support him an easy one.
But the statistics in recent weeks make for grim reading. One goal scored in nine matches tells a story of a team struggling badly in the final third and with Aberdeen seemingly limping towards the finish line rather than piling the pressure on third placed Hibs Cormack has seen enough.
It may have taken for those European campaigns and status as cup contenders to weaken for a change to come but the challenge of appointing a successor will not be an easy one for the Dons chairman.
Whether you were a supporter of McInnes or agree with his departure one thing is certain – the next manager has big shoes to fill.
Players who have been on the journey with McInnes such as Niall McGinn and Jonny Hayes have spoken in glowing terms about the standards demanded of them by the manager.
They have seen the club move from training on public parks across the city to being based in a modern and permanent base.
Cormack Park may bear the chairman’s name but it is every bit the manager’s legacy as it is that of the man at the top of the club.
The Aberdeen chairman has presided over an incredibly challenging and unprecedented 12 months of a pandemic but make no mistake his latest challenge in appointing the man who can revitalise the team is equally daunting.
