2009: The Beginning, Part 1 | Looking back at Alabama's first championship season under Nick Saban

You remember the T-shirt: “Tebow cried. Cam Lied. LSU tried.”
There were different variations of the T-shirt after Alabama’s national championship run in 2009, which would be the first of five national championships under coach Nick Saban.
“This is not the end,” the Alabama coach said. “This is the beginning.”
But, before you can truly appreciate that national championship win, you have to understand the mindset, the personnel changes, the opponents and the obstacles standing in the Crimson Tide’s way.
The year before, the Tide was a victim of Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. Tim Tebow ripped open the heart of the Crimson Tide as the Gators secured a second straight national title.
A stunning loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl gave the Tide back-to-back losses in a season which started with a win over a ninth-ranked Clemson team “that announced Alabama on the national stage.”
Gone from the 2008 team were leaders Antoine Caldwell, Andre Smith, John Parker Wilson, Glen Coffee and Rashad Johnson. Those players replaced with names like Greg McElroy, Barrett Jones, Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, Julio Jones, and Trent Richardson.
AL.com, on the 10th anniversary of the 2009 national title run, takes a three-part visual trip through what became the foundation for a modern-day college-football dynasty.
Subscribe, and stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 later this season.

[@sjenkins3309]

What a year! Undefeated, SEC Champs, Heisman, & Nat Champs! 🐘🏈🌊

[@RollTide1987]

Has it really been 10 years?

[@Jeremy-pb5xk]

This will always be the greatest Alabama season of all time in my opinion. Born in 1987, this is the first one I really remember. And the fact it was perfect and we had our first heisman just adds to how magical a season it was. Thank you 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide for the greatest season I’ve ever experienced in my life.

[@jbhammontree]

Saban looks so young. My all time favorite Bama team.

[@sam21462]

I will agree with that. 2009 was a perfection we had never known in the past and have yet to know again. The guys did it all. They (in order of personal importance) beat Auburn, won the SEC, won the National Championship, won a Heisman and went undefeated. I would also add that if we could put Mark Ingram's heart in all of our current players we would never come close to defeat ..... ever. I do so love that guy and am also so proud of the career he has put together in the NFL.

[@fridgecold4048]

As of now, this is the greatest run in Saban history. However Tua and the boys will change that this year, 15-0 Roll Tide Roll.

[@grangerdanger5263]

Fridge Cold lord I hope so hopefully our defense will hold up and get better threw the year without Moses

[@fullbarneystinsoness]

Damn this did not age well

[@terrydtruss]

This yrs team kinda has this feel

[@sam21462]

5:17 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@sam21462]

@Costa Zambaras - I'm not sure how to tell you this but "ginger" jokes have been .... well .... they were a bit popular but it's now fading a bit. I did howl at this one as it was so subtly thrown in. I'm not sure it started it but the first big instance I remember was a South Park episode, back in 2005, simply called "Ginger Kids" where it was correctly pointed out that gingers have no soul. So if you're a ginger, sorry about that. I guess it is a fair trade though, no heaven for gingers but at least no hell, either. :D

[@sam21462]

@Costa Zambaras - Yup, but don't feel bad, it really was an awesome delivery.I just hope it makes its way to Greg, or even better, Marcus Spears who can use it on "Thinking Out Loud".

[@sneakyquick]

I hated John Parker never got a championship he gave alot for Alabama when they stunk.

[@jwiese100]

Greg McElroy a really good quarterback surrounded by other really good players. That’s every Bama QB that played under Saban

[@SarcasticGame]

I remember the season like yesterday. I never thought I would I see our team win a National championship. Let alone 5 in the past 10 years. Crazy. I really think that the dynasty with saban is over. We have a weak defense. An overrated and huge bust at quarterback. We are not going to win another until we get back to playing great defense and winning games in the trenches. This air raid offense we have now, is not what we need. Especially with a quarterback that's average. He can throw but he cannot handle pressure. We are in serious trouble. Maybe he will prove me wrong. I hope he does but after Mississippi State, Georgia and Clemson. It doesn't look good.

[@jasonmansell5469]

You're an idiot

[@jasonmansell5469]

Tua is a generational talent and handled all the pressure that came after the 2017. He played hurt all year. Now he's rededicated and lost weight. The dynasty isn't over until bama starts missing the playoffs

[@SarcasticGame]

@@jasonmansell5469 I'm the idiot? Really? After Tuas pathetic national championship performance against a team that barely scraped by all year. Any average quarterback can throw for 300 yards against garbage can teams like ole miss, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arkansas state and auburn. Those teams are jokes. He struggled against LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia and Clemson. He's a joke. He can't handle the big stage. We won't win til he's gone. I'm not happy with going to the playoffs every year. That's not a dynasty. A dynasty wins championship and right now the dynasty is in jeopardy

[@jasonmansell5469]

You're not a bama fan , you're a troll. He ripped lsu a new one and u can blame that national title game on a coaching staff that had one foot out the door. Game was hardly on one player. I guess u know more than nfl scouts and people that actually coach qbs. He played HURT half the year . A real fan doesn't call players jokes or attack them personally. It was Clemson's night...give them credit and move on. This is the entitled mentality in our fanbase that makes me sick sometimes where it's never enough. This is the greatest run a program has had in college history PERIOD...and its not ending anytime soon. It'll be a pleasure watching our guys shut up the doubters

[@jasonmansell5469]

Btw I had to laugh "can't handle the big stage" ? Guess the title game against Georgia slipped your mind year before last. U lost credibility on that one.