In the 2006/07 season, Derby beat West Brom in the play-off final to win promotion to the Premier League.
But after finally returning to the top flight, it was all downhill from there for the Rams.
Derby were relegated straight back to the second tier, finishing the 2007/08 with just 11 points and 1 victory.
However the poor run didn't stop there, over the next couple of seasons Derby would finish in lower mid-table of the Championship under Nigel Clough, but eventually things started to look up as the Rams began to make top half finishes.
In 2013, Clough was sacked and replaced with Steve McClaren and Derby reached the play-off final which they lost 1-0 to QPR.
The next season, Derby competed for promotion before crumbling in the last few months of the campaign, something that's become a habit in recent years, as last season and this season Derby's form has stumbled in the new year.
Over the last 10 years, Derby have had some class players, but they've also had some incredibly poor players.
Here, Football League World writer Rob Booth identifies the worst Derby XI from the last 10 years.....
GK - Adam Legzdins
Adam Legzdins' Derby career got off to a good start after he joined from Burton in 2011, his debut was against Nottingham Forest as he was part of the 10 man Derby side that beat the Reds 2-1 at the City Ground.
The majority of Legzdins' Derby matches came in the 2012/13 season, when he made 33 appearances in all competitions.
But the keeper kept just 7 clean sheets in those games as Derby had an inconsistent season in which they ended the season in 10th place.
DF - Claude Davis
Claude Davis joined Derby in 2007 from Sheffield United and was part of that infamous team that was relegated from the Premier League in 2008.
Davis was just one of many players during the 2007/08 season who was incredibly poor, and he continued to struggle in a Derby shirt the following season in the Championship.
In 2009, Davis left Pride Park to join Crystal Palace. The Jamaican made 27 league appearances for the Rams, 19 of which were in the top flight.
DF - Dean Leacock
Dean Leacock was part of the Rams team that captured promotion in 2007, but was also part of the disastrous campaign of the following season.
Leacock spent 5 years with the club, but not all of those 5 years were enjoyable. The centre back and boss Nigel Clough didn't always see eye to eye, and in 2011, Leacock joined Leyton Orient on a free transfer.
The 32 year old is still playing, he joined Welling United in the summer of 2016 from fellow non-leaguers Whitehawk.
DF - Russell Anderson
Russell Anderson arrived at Derby in 2010 from Sunderland, making 33 league appearances over 2 and a half seasons in the East Midlands.
Anderson was never really a first choice defender and his performances showed why. In 2012, the Scotsman departed Derby to return to his first club Aberdeen.
DF - James O'Connor
James O'Connor spent 3 seasons at Derby, joining in 2011 from Doncaster.
O'Connor never hit it off in a Rams shirt, and made just 22 league outings for Derby, contributing 1 goal.
Despite not having the best time at Derby, James O'Connor has done well since leaving the East Midlands in 2014.
The defender now plays for Walsall and made 28 appearances for the Saddlers this season as they sit 13th in the League One table.
MD - Omar Mascarell
Omar Mascarell spent just one season with Derby, on loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Mascarell wasn't that good despite what many initially thought when he joined from one of the best clubs in the world.
The Spaniard looked decent going forward, but played in a more defensive position which restricted him.
The 24 year old left Real Madrid in 2016 to join German side Frankfurt, and last season he spent the campaign on loan with Sporting Gijon.
In his 3 years with the Real Madrid first team, he made just 1 appearance.
MD - Hossam Ghaly
Hossam Ghaly spent 5 months at Derby in 2008, after joining during the winter transfer window of their Premier League.
The Egyptian played 16 top flight matches for the Rams, most of which they lost.
Derby never won a Premier League game with Ghaly in the side.
Following Derby's relegation in 2008, Hossam Ghaly joined Belgian side Lierse SK before ending his career in 2014 with Al Ahly of his native Egypt.
MD - Eddie Lewis
Eddie Lewis was another member of that infamous 2007/08 team.
Lewis who only spent the one season with Derby, made 27 appearances in all competitions for the Rams as they finished rock bottom of England's top division, a season that saw them lose 6-2 to Arsenal, 6-1 to Chelsea and 6-0 to Aston Villa.
The American left Pride Park and joined MLS side LA Galaxy, before retiring in 2010.
MD - Benny Feilhaber
Benny Feilhaber played 10 Premier League games for Derby in the 07/08 campaign.
Feilhaber, who like Eddie Lewis is from the USA, left Derby in 2009 swapping England for Denmark.
Benny Feilhaber signed for Aarhus before then returning to his home country in 2012, joining Kansas City.
ST - Leon Best
Leon Best was a loan signing in 2014, joining from Blackburn Rovers.
Best played in 20 games for Derby but failed to score a single goal for Steve McClaren's side, his last match came in a 1-0 FA Cup win over Southport in which he failed to score despite it being against non-league opposition.
The striker's loan was cut short and the Rams signed Darren Bent on loan from Aston Villa who scored 10 goals in 14 league matches.
ST - Conor Sammon
Conor Sammon spent 4 season with Derby but 2 of those seasons were spent out on loan.
The Irishman bagged just 10 goals in 82 league appearances for Derby which is a very poor turnover for any striker.
Sammon started most games on the bench in the 2013/14 season as the Rams reached the play-off final under Steve McClaren's management.
Sammon was loaned out to the likes of Ipswich, Rotherham and Sheffield United during the final 2 years of his Derby career, before joining Hearts in the summer following his release.
Derby fans... Is this the worst Rams XI of the last 10 years? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!