Brady speculated that Belichick was cold with players because in the NFL eventually everyone gets cut and it's really hard to cut people you have a close relationship with. I think it was probably the same with Saban. Neither of them get a lot of love from their former players, but they get tons of respect. And both of them are reported to be kind in their relationships outside football.
Then you have a guy like Andy Reid who manages to be a player's coach but still holds people accountable. I think this is the model for Kalani and suits his personal style the best.
I was concerned about the Tuiaki hire from the beginning without even knowing anything about him because it seemed motivated by a personal friendship. The Jay Hill hire definitely makes that situation look even worse.