SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In Sunday’s final press conference, head coaches Mack Brown and Mark Helfrich answered questions from the media before both their teams take to the field Monday for the 2013 Valero Alamo Bowl.
Today was the first time Helfrich spoke about the retirement of defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, who will coach his final game after 24 years with the Oregon football program.
Helfrich said that coach Aliotti had been talking about the announcement for a while and that Aliotti wanted to be able to control the message.
“He wanted to tell the team and he wanted to tell the staff before anybody else, and to do that you have to do that before Monday night,” Helfrich said.
Oregon’s head coach added that the timing of Alitotti’s retirement was his call and joked that it was time for Aliotti to just be playing golf.
“His contributions on and off the field have been immeasurable,” Helfrich said.
In terms of finding a replacement for Aliotti, Helfrich said that the priority is whatever is best for Oregon and that there is no timeline.
Helfrich said that compared to the other teams the Ducks have faced this season, Texas’ talent level ranks very high. Helfrich said it is difficult to prepare when facing a player like running back Malcolm Brown and the Longhorns’ offensive line.
“Somebody had asked how do you prepare for a Malcolm Brown, how do you prepare for the offensive line, like most people we don’t have those guys laying around,” Helfrich said. “We don’t have a Malcolm Brown on our team let alone the third guy or fourth guy that can simulate that guy in a scout team situation.”
It has been made clear that defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat will be one of the biggest threats for the Ducks and Helfrich referred to the Texas defense as outstanding.
“Jackson Jeffcoat is one of the many, many things that make them a really good on defense, two great corners that can cover anybody,” Helfrich said.
With the city of Austin only about 80 miles away from San Antonio, the Longhorns are expected to have the bigger crowd, creating a road game atmosphere. Although there was a similar storyline in last season’s Fiesta Bowl, Helfrich said he believes that tomorrow will be similar to a hostile Oregon versus Washington road game.
Follow Beth Maiman on Twitter @bethamaiman