Maybe when Mark supposidly said "Stapp got the boot" (which keep in mind, this was paraphrased from some dude who supposidly talked to Mark at NAMM) he meant that there was a boot that Stapp was saving his money to buy. Maybe he said "boots" and not just "boot." Maybe he just got special boots.
#2, Mark also never said anything (that I remember) that he was not writing with Stapp anymore. Perhaps if Stapp was kicked out (which I find unlikely), they have already completed the work that they were going to do for the new release.
#3, What is Brett Hestla doing? I know we've asked this before, and no one really knows, but maybe had to leave for a while to do something, and another new bassist was needed. Possibly a reason as to why Hestla was never officially added to Creed -- They maybe knew when he had to leave. Maybe Mark and Flip thought they could get Marshall back, and because of the bad blood we know about between Stapp and Marshall, Stapp didn't want to have anything to do with it, so he left. Possibly, since it is labeled as a SIDE PROJECT, Hestla will come back again, and therefore bring back Stapp, Tremonti, and Phillips. **Please Note: This is just my OPINION. It may be completly wrong, as many of my opinions are.
H-D