On Jan. 3, 2007, Alabama announced that it had hired Nick Saban away from the Miami Dolphins. He had already won a national championship at LSU. Alabama hadn't won one since 1992.
A rough first fall
The first season showed how far the program had to go. Alabama started well enough, but November was a disaster. The Tide lost to LSU, then Mississippi State. Then, on Nov. 17 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, it lost 21–14 to Louisiana-Monroe, a Sun Belt team that was supposed to be a tune-up. Alabama lost its regular-season finale too, making four losses in a row.
Saban later called the Louisiana-Monroe game the most humiliating loss of his time at Alabama. He didn't blow up the plan, though. He talked about doing things the right way every day, regardless of the scoreboard. People started calling it the Process.
Alabama beat Colorado 30–24 in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport to finish 7–6 on the field. The NCAA later vacated five of those wins for a textbook violation, so the official record looks even worse.
The turn
Then things turned. In 2008, Alabama opened by beating Clemson 34–10 in Atlanta and went 12–0 in the regular season. It lost the SEC Championship Game to Florida and the Sugar Bowl to Utah, but it was clear the program had turned the corner.
In 2009, Alabama went 14–0, avenged the Florida loss 32–13 in Atlanta, and beat Texas 37–21 in Pasadena for the national championship.
What came next
That was title No. 1 for Saban at Alabama. Five more followed in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. Most dynasties have a starting point, and Saban's started with a 21–14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.