Maybe it's part of a disguise. I have heard him speak and he is no wimp.
I know very little about him.
But
I do know that if he was a wimp he would have backpedaled his support for the NSA surveillance. That he stood up to the drive-by media tells me that he has backbone, courage of his convictions, belief in the mission, etc.
Look out CIA, the second shift clean-up crew is coming in!
Is the DCI a ten-year appointment like the head of FBI?