Suddenly, Alabama Coach Nick Saban Is Making All the Wrong Calls

APRIL 1 UPDATE: Jonathan Taylor's accuser recanted her story and was charged with false reporting to law enforcement.  The charges against Taylor will be reviewed. 

Monday wasn't the time for Nick Saban to defend himself or the good that his system of second chances has done.   

It was the time to express horror, genuine horror, for a woman who showed up at a police station with marks on her neck and alleged that one of Saban's players, Jonathan Taylor, had assaulted her. It was the time for Saban to admit he had made a colossal mistake in bringing Taylor into the Alabama program less than a year after Taylor had been kicked off the team at Georgia over a domestic violence arrest. It was time for Saban to apologize.

It seemed like Saban understood this. Taylor was kicked off the Alabama team. Saban said he had "learned" from the incident.

But then it came time to say what, specifically, he had learned.

"I still think he's a good person," Saban said.

Huh?

"No, I'm not sorry for giving him an opportunity," Saban said. "I'm sorry for the way things worked out. I'm not apologizing for the opportunity we gave him."

Huh?

"It's time to move on."

HUH?

Saban was not the victim here. He is the face and conscience of a program that seemed to be the picture of perfection just 18 months ago. Perfection is impossible to keep up, even if your name is Saban. There are just too many moving parts, too many elements, too many human beings. And in Saban's case, too much ego. Even the greatest plans from the greatest control freaks eventually run out of control.

Alabama football and its coach have lost their momentum. And Saban's press conference Monday ended an unusually bad and public run for such a buttoned-up program. Not only was Taylor arrested for the second time on domestic assault charges, but also early Saturday morning defensive back Geno Smith was arrested for DUI.

That was his second DUI arrest in three years. Saban said that Smith would have to do some things before he would be allowed back on the practice field. He wouldn't specify what those things are, saying they're private.

UPDATE: On Tuesday afternoon suspended Alabama running back, Tyren Jones was arrested for marijuana possession.  Saban promptly dismissed him from the team. 

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Also on Saturday, receiver Cam Sims tore his ACL in practice and will require reconstructive knee surgery. And while that is just a minor thing in comparison to Taylor and Smith, and of a totally different nature, it all adds up to the worst week of Alabama football under Saban. It's the worst look ever for Saban.

Something happened to the program after the Iron Bowl of 2013. Saban made a bad call, Auburn ran a missed field goal back for a touchdown and the Alabama perfection was gone. Then the Tide lost to Oklahoma in a bowl game. And last season, Saban and Alabama were a step behind the times in the loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State's offensive line ran over Alabama's defensive line.

That's what is so disturbing about Saban and his decision to bring Taylor in. Saban talked at length Monday about how many young men he has helped by giving out second chances. He insisted—at the wrong time—that he will continue to do that.

But when he brought in Taylor, was that a big-hearted move or the move of a desperate coach who sees the momentum of his dynasty disappearing? Was he doing it to help a young man, or was he bringing in a 335-pound defensive lineman so his team could stand up to Ohio State better next season?

Sometimes, coaches get that mixed up in their own heads. Either way, Saban seemed almost oblivious to the ongoing conversation about football and domestic violence.

And Smith's two DUIs shouldn't be forgotten either. If Saban allows him back, that will be a third chance.

"As you would with your own children in your own home," Saban said, "you don't throw them out with the bath water every time something goes wrong."

Saban said Taylor was given specific guidelines, including zero tolerance, for staying on the team. He said Taylor had done everything Alabama asked of him. But after this weekend, "The guy cannot be on our football team."

The Teflon has worn off at Alabama. Saban continued to say he would look to give other young men second chances. It almost seemed like a message to potential recruits, a message from a coach who knows his program is suddenly off its axis.

This wasn't the time for that.

Greg Couch covers college football for Bleacher Report.