I think the “lost swagger” thing is that there was a decision made behind closed doors that he knew was bad and chose not to speak up. So when that decision ind

I think the “lost swagger” thing is that there was a decision made behind closed doors that he knew was bad and chose not to speak up. So when that decision indeed caused something bad, he emailed the CEO explaining why they should have know it was bad from the start. And the CEO complained that he was hired to “speak up” and he didn’t. And instead of bouncing back, he spiraled downwards (presumably doing a very bad job and justifying his firing). If he had the confidence to come back to who he was, even after being targeted by jealous executives and messing up with one decision (splitting the eng team), he would have done a better job. That’s my take of it