diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/executor/executor_test.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/executor/executor_test.go
index fc147a336ef..959a95398fb 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/executor/executor_test.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/executor/executor_test.go
@@ -170,11 +170,10 @@ func TestExecutorLaunchAndKillTask(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	pod := NewTestPod(1)
-	podTask, err := podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "",
-		*pod, &mesosproto.ExecutorInfo{})
+	podTask, err := podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", pod)
 	assert.Equal(t, nil, err, "must be able to create a task from a pod")
 
-	taskInfo := podTask.BuildTaskInfo()
+	taskInfo := podTask.BuildTaskInfo(&mesosproto.ExecutorInfo{})
 	data, err := testapi.Default.Codec().Encode(pod)
 	assert.Equal(t, nil, err, "must be able to encode a pod's spec data")
 	taskInfo.Data = data
@@ -417,10 +416,8 @@ func TestExecutorFrameworkMessage(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// set up a pod to then lose
 	pod := NewTestPod(1)
-	podTask, _ := podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "foo",
-		*pod, &mesosproto.ExecutorInfo{})
-
-	taskInfo := podTask.BuildTaskInfo()
+	podTask, _ := podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "foo", pod)
+	taskInfo := podTask.BuildTaskInfo(&mesosproto.ExecutorInfo{})
 	data, _ := testapi.Default.Codec().Encode(pod)
 	taskInfo.Data = data
 
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/framework.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/framework.go
index 951523f842c..2b21ab8ff89 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/framework.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/framework.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/offers"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podschedulers"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
 )
 
 type MesosFramework struct {
@@ -44,10 +43,6 @@ func (fw *MesosFramework) Tasks() podtask.Registry {
 	return fw.MesosScheduler.taskRegistry
 }
 
-func (fw *MesosFramework) CreatePodTask(ctx api.Context, pod *api.Pod) (*podtask.T, error) {
-	return podtask.New(ctx, "", *pod, fw.MesosScheduler.executor)
-}
-
 func (fw *MesosFramework) SlaveHostNameFor(id string) string {
 	return fw.MesosScheduler.slaveHostNames.HostName(id)
 }
@@ -60,7 +55,8 @@ func (fw *MesosFramework) KillTask(taskId string) error {
 
 func (fw *MesosFramework) LaunchTask(task *podtask.T) error {
 	// assume caller is holding scheduler lock
-	taskList := []*mesos.TaskInfo{task.BuildTaskInfo()}
+	ei := fw.MesosScheduler.executor
+	taskList := []*mesos.TaskInfo{task.BuildTaskInfo(ei)}
 	offerIds := []*mesos.OfferID{task.Offer.Details().Id}
 	filters := &mesos.Filters{}
 	_, err := fw.MesosScheduler.driver.LaunchTasks(offerIds, taskList, filters)
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/integration_test.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/integration_test.go
index 4a6c6fe072a..3e5802c2a4a 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/integration_test.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/integration_test.go
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ func newLifecycleTest(t *testing.T) lifecycleTest {
 	// create scheduler loop
 	fw := &MesosFramework{MesosScheduler: mesosScheduler}
 	eventObs := NewEventObserver()
-	loop, _ := operations.NewScheduler(&c, fw, client, eventObs, schedulerProc.Terminal(), http.DefaultServeMux, &podsListWatch.ListWatch)
+	loop, podReconciler := operations.NewScheduler(&c, fw, client, eventObs, schedulerProc.Terminal(), http.DefaultServeMux, &podsListWatch.ListWatch)
 	assert.NotNil(loop)
 
 	// create mock mesos scheduler driver
@@ -498,6 +498,7 @@ func newLifecycleTest(t *testing.T) lifecycleTest {
 		eventObs:      eventObs,
 		loop:          loop,
 		podsListWatch: podsListWatch,
+		podReconciler: podReconciler,
 		scheduler:     mesosScheduler,
 		schedulerProc: schedulerProc,
 		t:             t,
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/meta/annotations.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/meta/annotations.go
index 7c9ee089380..361b8eca87b 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/meta/annotations.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/meta/annotations.go
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ const (
 	TaskIdKey                = "k8s.mesosphere.io/taskId"
 	SlaveIdKey               = "k8s.mesosphere.io/slaveId"
 	OfferIdKey               = "k8s.mesosphere.io/offerId"
-	ExecutorIdKey            = "k8s.mesosphere.io/executorId"
 	PortMappingKeyPrefix     = "k8s.mesosphere.io/port_"
 	PortMappingKeyFormat     = PortMappingKeyPrefix + "%s_%d"
 	PortNameMappingKeyPrefix = "k8s.mesosphere.io/portName_"
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/algorithm.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/algorithm.go
index 93a21254cd6..59c0bd0b1c6 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/algorithm.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/algorithm.go
@@ -72,7 +72,12 @@ func (k *SchedulerAlgorithm) Schedule(pod *api.Pod) (string, error) {
 			log.Infof("aborting Schedule, pod has been deleted %+v", pod)
 			return "", merrors.NoSuchPodErr
 		}
-		return k.doSchedule(k.fw.Tasks().Register(k.fw.CreatePodTask(ctx, pod)))
+		podTask, err := podtask.New(ctx, "", pod)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Warningf("aborting Schedule, unable to create podtask object %+v: %v", pod, err)
+			return "", err
+		}
+		return k.doSchedule(k.fw.Tasks().Register(podTask, nil))
 
 	//TODO(jdef) it's possible that the pod state has diverged from what
 	//we knew previously, we should probably update the task.Pod state here
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/deleter_test.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/deleter_test.go
index 639f31e5854..1fec942fca5 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/deleter_test.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/operations/deleter_test.go
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ package operations
 import (
 	"testing"
 
-	mesos "github.com/mesos/mesos-go/mesosproto"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/queue"
 	merrors "k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/errors"
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ func TestDeleteOne_PendingPod(t *testing.T) {
 			UID:       "foo0",
 			Namespace: api.NamespaceDefault,
 		}}}
-	_, err := reg.Register(podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "bar", *pod.Pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{}))
+	_, err := reg.Register(podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "bar", pod.Pod))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to create task: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -94,7 +93,7 @@ func TestDeleteOne_Running(t *testing.T) {
 			UID:       "foo0",
 			Namespace: api.NamespaceDefault,
 		}}}
-	task, err := reg.Register(podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "bar", *pod.Pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{}))
+	task, err := reg.Register(podtask.New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "bar", pod.Pod))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task.go
index ad8a77d42fe..3a76e56a373 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package podtask
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto"
@@ -62,7 +63,6 @@ type T struct {
 	UpdatedTime time.Time // time of the most recent StatusUpdate we've seen from the mesos master
 
 	podStatus  api.PodStatus
-	executor   *mesos.ExecutorInfo // readonly
 	podKey     string
 	launchTime time.Time
 	bindTime   time.Time
@@ -130,21 +130,49 @@ func generateTaskName(pod *api.Pod) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s.%s.pods", pod.Name, ns)
 }
 
-func (t *T) BuildTaskInfo() *mesos.TaskInfo {
+func setCommandArgument(ei *mesos.ExecutorInfo, flag, value string, create bool) {
+	argv := []string{}
+	overwrite := false
+	if ei.Command != nil && ei.Command.Arguments != nil {
+		argv = ei.Command.Arguments
+		for i, arg := range argv {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(arg, flag+"=") {
+				overwrite = true
+				argv[i] = flag + "=" + value
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if !overwrite && create {
+		argv = append(argv, flag+"="+value)
+		if ei.Command == nil {
+			ei.Command = &mesos.CommandInfo{}
+		}
+		ei.Command.Arguments = argv
+	}
+}
+
+func (t *T) BuildTaskInfo(ei *mesos.ExecutorInfo) *mesos.TaskInfo {
 	info := &mesos.TaskInfo{
 		Name:     proto.String(generateTaskName(&t.Pod)),
 		TaskId:   mutil.NewTaskID(t.ID),
 		SlaveId:  mutil.NewSlaveID(t.Spec.SlaveID),
-		Executor: t.executor,
+		Executor: proto.Clone(ei).(*mesos.ExecutorInfo),
 		Data:     t.Spec.Data,
 		Resources: []*mesos.Resource{
 			mutil.NewScalarResource("cpus", float64(t.Spec.CPU)),
 			mutil.NewScalarResource("mem", float64(t.Spec.Memory)),
 		},
 	}
+
 	if portsResource := rangeResource("ports", t.Spec.Ports); portsResource != nil {
 		info.Resources = append(info.Resources, portsResource)
 	}
+
+	// hostname needs of the executor needs to match that of the offer, otherwise
+	// the kubelet node status checker/updater is very unhappy
+	setCommandArgument(info.Executor, "--hostname-override", t.Spec.AssignedSlave, true)
+
 	return info
 }
 
@@ -170,10 +198,7 @@ func (t *T) Has(f FlagType) (exists bool) {
 	return
 }
 
-func New(ctx api.Context, id string, pod api.Pod, executor *mesos.ExecutorInfo) (*T, error) {
-	if executor == nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("illegal argument: executor was nil")
-	}
+func New(ctx api.Context, id string, pod *api.Pod) (*T, error) {
 	key, err := MakePodKey(ctx, pod.Name)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -182,13 +207,12 @@ func New(ctx api.Context, id string, pod api.Pod, executor *mesos.ExecutorInfo)
 		id = "pod." + uuid.NewUUID().String()
 	}
 	task := &T{
-		ID:       id,
-		Pod:      pod,
-		State:    StatePending,
-		podKey:   key,
-		mapper:   MappingTypeForPod(&pod),
-		Flags:    make(map[FlagType]struct{}),
-		executor: proto.Clone(executor).(*mesos.ExecutorInfo),
+		ID:     id,
+		Pod:    *pod,
+		State:  StatePending,
+		podKey: key,
+		mapper: MappingTypeForPod(pod),
+		Flags:  make(map[FlagType]struct{}),
 	}
 	task.CreateTime = time.Now()
 	return task, nil
@@ -198,7 +222,6 @@ func (t *T) SaveRecoveryInfo(dict map[string]string) {
 	dict[annotation.TaskIdKey] = t.ID
 	dict[annotation.SlaveIdKey] = t.Spec.SlaveID
 	dict[annotation.OfferIdKey] = t.Offer.Details().Id.GetValue()
-	dict[annotation.ExecutorIdKey] = t.executor.ExecutorId.GetValue()
 }
 
 // reconstruct a task from metadata stashed in a pod entry. there are limited pod states that
@@ -256,7 +279,6 @@ func RecoverFrom(pod api.Pod) (*T, bool, error) {
 		annotation.TaskIdKey,
 		annotation.SlaveIdKey,
 		annotation.OfferIdKey,
-		annotation.ExecutorIdKey,
 	} {
 		v, found := pod.Annotations[k]
 		if !found {
@@ -271,10 +293,6 @@ func RecoverFrom(pod api.Pod) (*T, bool, error) {
 			offerId = v
 		case annotation.TaskIdKey:
 			t.ID = v
-		case annotation.ExecutorIdKey:
-			// this is nowhere near sufficient to re-launch a task, but we really just
-			// want this for tracking
-			t.executor = &mesos.ExecutorInfo{ExecutorId: mutil.NewExecutorID(v)}
 		}
 	}
 	t.Offer = offers.Expired(offerId, t.Spec.AssignedSlave, 0)
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task_test.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task_test.go
index 710485b1eb1..77371942aeb 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task_test.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/pod_task_test.go
@@ -35,12 +35,12 @@ const (
 )
 
 func fakePodTask(id string) (*T, error) {
-	return New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", api.Pod{
+	return New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", &api.Pod{
 		ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
 			Name:      id,
 			Namespace: api.NamespaceDefault,
 		},
-	}, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{})
+	})
 }
 
 func TestUnlimitedResources(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/port_mapping_test.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/port_mapping_test.go
index 9ff9b8df388..2d223f93b64 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/port_mapping_test.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/port_mapping_test.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func TestDefaultHostPortMatching(t *testing.T) {
 			}},
 		}},
 	}
-	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", *pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{})
+	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", pod)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func TestWildcardHostPortMatching(t *testing.T) {
 			}},
 		}},
 	}
-	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", *pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{})
+	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", pod)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func TestWildcardHostPortMatching(t *testing.T) {
 			}},
 		}},
 	}
-	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", *pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{})
+	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", pod)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func TestWildcardHostPortMatching(t *testing.T) {
 			}},
 		}},
 	}
-	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", *pod, &mesos.ExecutorInfo{})
+	task, err = New(api.NewDefaultContext(), "", pod)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/procurement.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/procurement.go
index 9a0921047ca..b27193a9647 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/procurement.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask/procurement.go
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package podtask
 
 import (
-	"strings"
-
 	log "github.com/golang/glog"
 	mesos "github.com/mesos/mesos-go/mesosproto"
 	mresource "k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/resource"
@@ -74,31 +72,11 @@ func ValidateProcurement(t *T, offer *mesos.Offer) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func setCommandArgument(ei *mesos.ExecutorInfo, flag, value string, create bool) {
-	argv := ei.Command.Arguments
-	overwrite := false
-	for i, arg := range argv {
-		if strings.HasPrefix(arg, flag+"=") {
-			overwrite = true
-			argv[i] = flag + "=" + value
-			break
-		}
-	}
-	if !overwrite && create {
-		ei.Command.Arguments = append(argv, flag+"="+value)
-	}
-}
-
 // NodeProcurement updates t.Spec in preparation for the task to be launched on the
 // slave associated with the offer.
 func NodeProcurement(t *T, offer *mesos.Offer) error {
 	t.Spec.SlaveID = offer.GetSlaveId().GetValue()
 	t.Spec.AssignedSlave = offer.GetHostname()
-
-	// hostname needs of the executor needs to match that of the offer, otherwise
-	// the kubelet node status checker/updater is very unhappy
-	setCommandArgument(t.executor, "--hostname-override", offer.GetHostname(), true)
-
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/types/types.go b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/types/types.go
index ee4ebd0445e..032101f14b7 100644
--- a/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/types/types.go
+++ b/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/types/types.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/offers"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podschedulers"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/contrib/mesos/pkg/scheduler/podtask"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
 )
 
 // Framework abstracts everything other components of the scheduler need from
@@ -38,7 +37,4 @@ type Framework interface {
 	// driver calls
 	KillTask(taskId string) error
 	LaunchTask(*podtask.T) error
-
-	// convenience
-	CreatePodTask(api.Context, *api.Pod) (*podtask.T, error)
 }