Basically, it seems that Edsall was mad that he suspected that O'Brien was leaving Maryland in the same fashion that he left UConn. The difference was that he could hold the kid up whereas UConn could only hold him to his buyout.
He had leverage and used it until the Washington Post made a sport out of beating him over the head until he cried 'uncle'.
He's just tone-deaf to the rest of the world at times. I don't think he has any idea how some things will be perceived and he's genuinely surprised when there's pushback. He's not stupid by any stretch, he's just wired differently.
It didn't help him at UConn, but it didn't hurt him much either. No one gives a duck* if the Shawn Corchesnes of the world are twisted at you. If anything, it is somewhat endearing.
The Washington Post is a much bigger animal than he dealt with here, though, and they've decided that they don't like him in the same way that the NY papers decided they didn't like Ray Handley or Rich Kottite.
He'll pay for every misstep or even every perceived misstep. I think he'll learn, but he should probably do it quickly.