Carlo's on record as flatly stating that he wants Brands retained. Reading between the lines a bit, his praise was that Brands is doing a 'fantastic job' with the stuff he doesn't have time to personally oversee.
Dave may be 100% right about the internal politics - it may well be that Carlo and the board want him, but Moshiri doesn't. It could also be the case that talks stalled because United showed up with a pile of cash and Woodward's days are numbered, as was rumored, and delaying the talks is just a face-saving mechanism for all parties.
Regardless, we're going to need someone to handle the impending cleanout because that sort of thing just isn't Carlo's bag.