After the announcement a few days ago, speculation ran rampant about why Howard wouldn't return, but on Simon's radio show, Howard said that he found out about the news the same way the rest of us did.
It was the surprise of a lifetime," he said. "There was no explanation. [The contract] just...up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on, sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."