• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, March 1, 2013

Andrew Mason is out at Groupon. Yes, after another disappointing quarter -- which sent the deal site’s stock price plunging, this week -- the company’s board has finally given the young founder and CEO notice.

Ultimately, Mason “failed to reverse a crumbling share price and gradual erosion of [Groupon’s] daily deals business,” Reuters reports.

Groupon’s decline has been so gradual, in fact, that “the departure of founder Mason has been speculated about for quite some time,” Business Insider notes.

Indeed, along with a reputation for being wacky and unpredictable, Mason “has been on a short leash after the company’s stock price fell more than 75% from its IPO debut,” The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog writes.

To be clear, “Mason’s penchant for antic behavior that highlighted his immaturity and called into question his seriousness as a leader didn’t [get him fired],” Forbes insists. “But it sure didn’t help.”

Big picture, “Mason’s ouster caps a tumultuous tenure that mirrors the boom and later slowdown for digital coupons,” according to Bloomberg.  "I was fired today,” Mason wrote in a blunt blog post on Thursday. “If you're wondering why… you haven't been paying attention."

What happens now?

At least initially, “Andrew Mason’s loss may just be Groupon’s gain,” according to TechCrunch. “Groupon’s stock price got a rapid and marked boost in after-hours trading [on Thursday].”

Long term, however, some Web watchers are asking whether anyone can right Groupon’s ship.

As the company continues to “adjust to its diminished expectations,” ReadWrite.com doubts whether it can find anyone “to run this ongoing mess of a company.”

Either way, expect Groupon to look less and less like Groupon. ““The ‘deal a day’ business is fading,” according to Digits. “Mason said on the earnings call [this week] that more than half of Groupon’s local transactions come from its “Deal Bank,” which is basically an inventory of standing deals.”