Just a month into his tenure as the new general manager of WLS-AM, Mike Damsky and new operations manager Drew Hayes have already begun to make significant changes to the station. On Wednesday, the painful 16-month experiment of Erich “Mancow” Muller and Pat Cassidy finally came to an end. In addition, the painful 4-week experiment of Roe Conn and Cisco Cotto also came to an end. (Feder, Rosenthal, Lazare)

In the re-shuffling, Cassidy exited the station and will likely return to his previous radio home of all-news WBBM-AM, which, not coincidentally, is where Drew Hayes most recently roamed the halls. Hayes was, no doubt, aware of the long-rumored standing invitation for Cassidy to return to WBBM. By releasing Cassidy from his WLS contract, Hayes knew that the veteran newsman would be able to make smooth transition back to his old stomping grounds.

Meanwhile, Mancow has been fired from yet another Chicago radio station. He joined WLS in late 2008 in a very unusual deal that essentially cost the station nothing. Mancow’s national syndicator TRN brokered a deal with WLS to share revenue sold during the 9-11am time slot, where Mancow was heard. This allowed TRN to sell this inventory to many of the national clients who were buying spots in Mancow’s national show. It seemed to be a smart move for all parties involved, and for a while, the ratings for the show seemed to be holding steady. But a recent decline and the change in regime at WLS once again puts Mancow off the air in his home market.

Here are Damsky’s comments on Mancow and Cassidy, via Feder:

“Mancow has been an outstanding talent and an ideal employee in every respect. Unfortunately, he does not fit the needs of the radio station as we try to fulfill a very clear vision of what listeners expect, and try to restore credibility to conservative talk. We thank him and Pat Cassidy for their contributions, and wish them both well.”

Cisco Cotto will slide into the 9-11am slot, which is familiar territory for him. For many years, up until 2006, Cotto worked as a reporter and new anchor at WLS and frequently contributed to the various shows that occupied that slot. This move ends the arranged marriage between Cotto and Roe Conn that scarcely had a honeymoon period. Cotto was foisted upon Conn later last year when the previous general manager Mike Fowler eyed Conn’s falling ratings and forced him to choose a new sidekick. Little did Conn know that he was actually picking a co-equal partner and not another sidekick, which has included a recent string of names like Amy Jacobson and Bill Leff. Conn wasn’t even aware of the egalitarian relationship he would be having with Cotto until days before they began working together on the air.

There’s little doubt that Conn’s longtime relationship with Hayes factored greatly into this re-shuffling. Conn and Hayes worked together at WMAQ-AM nearly 25 years ago. Hayes was the operations manager at WLS 20 years ago when a young Conn was first hired. It’s become clear that Conn encouraged — if not fully orchestrated — the moves implemented on Wednesday. He did not want to be partnered with Cotto, and he wanted Ron Magers back on the program. There’s now word that Christina Filiaggi may return to the show. Whatever pull Conn had lost under the tenure of Fowler and PD Bob Shomper has returned tenfold with the return of Hayes.

So where does this leave everyone involved? First, the winners.

Roe Conn. If anyone had any doubts, the events of this week prove that Roe gets what Roe wants. He’s survived at WLS through numerous management shake-ups, and he’s managed to stay on top. Just weeks ago, he was described by friends and colleagues as distraught and depressed about his falling ratings and his lack of influence at the station. Now, he has nearly single-handedly changed the character of the radio station while remaining the top dog in afternoon drive. There’s been no confirmation of a new deal being signed, but you can bet that Conn will make out better now than he would have if he’d re-signed six weeks ago.

Pat Cassidy. His foray into talk radio didn’t go as planned, for sure. In the summer of 2008, Cassidy was lured to WLS by then-GM Mike Fowler with the promise that he’d be working in morning drive alongside Don Wade. Unfortunately, no one asked Wade first. Once that idea was vehemently vetoed, Cassidy became a man without a show on WLS. He bounced around between several different shows, being paired with Conn and Jerry Agar for temporary assignments until finally landing in the chair next to Mancow. The pairing never worked and now Cassidy can return to WBBM where he can do what he does best — read the news.

Now, the losers.

Mancow. He’s burned just about every bridge in this town. He has nowhere left to go. His syndicated show will continue on the handful of mid-size markets that haven’t grown tired of his shtick, but he will likely not work in Chicago in any prominent position for a long time. He never seemed comfortable fully shedding his shock jock persona in pursuit of becoming a serious political talker. Perhaps that metamorphosis is still in the making, but it’s more likely that Mancow will now be viewed as damaged goods.

Cisco Cotto. He jumped from WIND-AM where he co-hosted mornings back to WLS where he had hoped to save afternoon drive, after watching Conn slowly decline for the last 18 months. In many ways, it was doomed from the start, as both Cotto and Conn are known for having strong personalities and very narrow views of how to perform their craft. Conn wasn’t going to cede any control of his show to Cotto, no matter how bad the ratings might have been. As a result, Cotto has been exiled to the 9-11am shift, which has been a career dead-end for names like Jay Marvin, Eileen Byrne, and Jerry Agar. Two years from how now, it’s not likely that Cotto will be working in this town either.

And lastly, those whose fates are still to be determined.

Drew Hayes. It was a series of bold movies from a guy know for bold moves. Clearly, Hayes’ boss Michael Damsky has a vision that Hayes has been set about to accomplish. WLS has spent the last few years spinning its wheels, making some gains but quickly giving them right back. The brand that was once golden when it came to news talk now seems a little tarnished. It will be interesting to see if Hayes can reignite some of the old sparks that jumpstarted WLS twenty years ago when it first launched.

Amy Jacobson. In the last year, she went from being heralded as the new co-host of the Roe Conn show to being marginalized to reading weather and traffic to being forced off the show completely to make way for Cisco Cotto. Ironically, she’s now reading news during Cotto’s new solo show. Jacobson’s days at WLS may be numbered, as she’s surely looking for more substantive opportunities in the market.