Mickey Dean announced on Tuesday that he will step down as Auburn's head softball coach at season's end.

That's a good idea. On all fronts.

Dean, now in his seventh season with the Tigers, is struggling to keep pace in what has become a remarkably competitive league from a softball perspective. Dean guided his team to a third-place Southeastern Conference finish last season, mind you, but his current team is 2-7 in league play with top-of-the-standings Tennessee visiting Jane B. Moore Field this weekend.

His team ranks last in runs scored per game and 11th (out of 13) in earned run average. Things are not going well.

A major change is coming.

Assessing Dean's effectiveness at Auburn is a tricky task. His first six teams were at least solid — if not a click above that. He has three 40-win seasons to his credit. He's made the NCAAs every year except the time COVID-19 wrecked everyone's postseason hopes.

Dean has been solid. He's been credible.

And that may be the most important part of the job he's done here. Dean was hired in September 2017 — well outside the usual timeframe for job jumping — after Clint Myers resigned a month earlier after Myers' son, Corey, was accused of having inappropriate relationships with Auburn players.

The program needed a fresh start. It needed someone to recalibrate its culture.

Dean did that. He did that well. A Virginia native with a deadpan delivery who is notably blunt in conversations, Dean operated his program cleanly, responsibly and credibly. Is Dean an fairly odd fellow? Yes. Is Dean a northern fish swimming awkwardly (at times) in southern waters? There is no doubt about it.

The same mannerisms and approach that made Dean a perfect candidate to carry Auburn out of the Myers ordeal, however, may have slowly sealed his fate. Recruiting has become much more competitive during the past five years and Dean's straightforward, brusque demeanor doesn't help him curry favor among Southern prospects and parents. He's not a brilliant marketer. He's not a convincing salesman. He's also not a teddy bear.

He's a stern dude who's been coaching ball a long time. That used to matter more than it does now. Are the most successful coaches actually the best tacticians these days? This game is about talent acquisition and getting the most out of those talented players.

Dean hasn't been doing enough of that lately. And it's really starting to show.

The good news for Auburn is two-fold here. Dean electing to announce his retirement now gives athletic director John Cohen a crucial head start in understanding what kind of coach this program needs — and which candidates fit it best. He now has months to plot his next move. Cohen indeed is a plotter. He will make a shrewd decision.

But Dean gives Auburn something else, too. In May he'll walk away from a program free of moral scrutiny and punitive sanction. Stadium capacity has been augmented under his watch. A new, state-of-the-art lighting system was installed earlier this month. A new, indoor practice facility opened two seasons ago.

He did the job. In some ways, he did it splendidly. And if the next coach gets the Tigers back into the limelight in relatively short order, which is entirely possible, Dean's role as de facto caretaker should be appreciated.

He was the right guy at the right time.