Pope is too nice and soft. The head man has to be tough. You cannot be a players friend. They have to fear you. With NIL players egos have gotten out of hand.
If you mean "fear" as in the old term for "respect" then I agree.
Ruling by fear (aka dictatorship) never works in the long term.
There are three types of leaders.
1. The Dictators/********- These dudes live by power trip and arrogance. And the only way they know how to lead is by force and pulling out the leader gun of "I'm in charge damn it! Listen to me or else!" This only works for so long and so often. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you have to use your authority in that way. But there's a reason most dictators end up with severed necks or an extra body hole. No one likes them. And at the first sign/chance of weakness: game, set, match.
2. The Delustionist/Everyone's Pal- These dudes go too far the other way and try to make everyone happy and lead with false promises, emotional candy, and unicorn farts. Again, there's times when you need to use positivity and hope. There's times when you need to reward people for good work and sometimes even for just being there (when times are hard). But if that's your de facto style, no one will respect you in the long run. They might like you or even work for you. But you'll never achieve much. However, these types of leaders may also avoid hard decisions and good conflict.
3. The True Leader- These dudes strike the right balance of accountability and coaching/developing. They lay down the law when needed and uphold standards. They don't pull out the "I'm in charge!" gun except when absolutely necessary. They also don't mollycoddle. But they will treat people AS people and acknowledge faults but offer opportunism for growth. They get down in the ditch with people when needed but will not micromanage. They do things for their people (recognize good work and social aspects- birthdays, work anniversaries, etc) and they hold standards as needed. They lead themselves first. They seek out growth and engage in GOOD conflict as needed. They're also the rarest type.
Right now, Pope is being No. 2 I think.