Staff at Molineux have been stunned by the decision which also blindsided Rob Edwards and his coaching team.
Technical director Matt Jackson was given the job of dismissing Edwards just weeks after saying they were united.
His “if there isn’t alignment here, we’re dead in the water before we start” comment at the fans’ Q&A last month could come back to haunt the club.
Edwards called Wolves a mess and had been working to change the culture of the club and squad but that blueprint will now be ripped up.
There was no flashpoint but it is a ruthless decision taken by the club, one which was made above Jackson, with executive chairman Nathan Shi and owners Fosun unconvinced by Edwards.
Yet midfielder Andre signed a new deal while Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez have joined on free transfers. A large part of the three committing their future to Wolves was because of Edwards.
He left Middlesbrough to join Wolves in November when they were second in the Championship and five points behind leaders Coventry.
He was planning another promotion assault and this time had a better squad and would have been backed financially, so why sack him now?
Wolves had been planning for the Championship since January, a strategy was in place and there appeared to be clear thinking.
Edwards did only win three Premier League games and there were doubts from the fans but it did at least feel the club was finally on the same page.
It cost Wolves close to £4m to bring him and Watling to Molineux from Boro and it will not be cheap to pay them off.
Reported replacement Cesar Peixoto, currently manager of Gil Vicente in Portugal, will also cost money.
He is a client of Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute agency – who have a close relationship with Wolves owners Fosun.
Peixoto has never managed outside of the country and would come into one of the toughest leagues in Europe.
That does not mean he cannot be a success but it is a gamble Wolves desperately need to pay off.
Additional reporting by Dan Wheeler, BBC Sport, West Midlands