It's possible they are butting heads, but its also possible that Eric Hyman is taking the heat so that Martin doesnt have this used against him on the recruiting trail.
If I were recruiting against him I could pretty easily use an AD who doesn't ever give releases in the same fashion.
Recruit: But what if something goes wrong and I want to transfer, or you leave for a new job?
FM: honesty, blahblahblah, loyalty, blahblah, it was the AD who denied the release anyway.
Recruit: But your boss wouldn't grant the release so either way I'd be stuck?
FM: yeah, pretty much