T1B

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti will retire after the Ducks' Dec. 30 Alamo Bowl matchup with Texas, the school announced Friday, ending a career at the school he started coaching at in 1978, as a graduate assistant.




Aliotti's retirement was first reported by CBS Sports, and later confirmed by a source before the football program's Twitter account announced that Aliotti would indeed retire.




He has been Oregon's defensive coordinator for 17 seasons, and was a staff member for seven more, notably leading Oregon's "Gang Green" defense during the 1994 Rose Bowl run and a unit in 2010 that allowed just 243 points -- a program record for a 13-game season -- during UO's BCS national championship game season.




In a release from the university, Aliotti said: “I’ve coached in a lot of great games in my life but the things I’m going to miss the most are the great players and assistant coaches I have had a privilege to work with. There is never an ideal time to announce these decisions because I don’t want to take away from the attention on this final game or the focus from the players who are the ones who deserve all the credit for getting us to where we are today.




“I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a great career and to step away from the game when I felt the time was right. Now is that time.”