Oregon secondary coach John Neal turned down an interview with the University of Alabama at Birminghan (UAB) Wednesday morning and will be back for another season with the Ducks. He’ll also see an increase in his duties next year.

According to head coach Mark Helfrich, Neal will serve as the defense’s passing game coordinator this upcoming season.

“We are very excited about John’s commitment to the University of Oregon,” Helfrich stated in a University of Oregon press statement. “We look forward to his unique brand of enthusiasm and toughness to continue permeating the team.”

Neal spent eight years as the defensive backs coach at UAB before joining Oregon in 2003 and was reportedly a top head coaching candidate for the Blazers in 2011. Neal said his love for Oregon kept him from pursuing the UAB job this year.

“I’m humbled and thankful for all the support I received to be a candidate for the coaching job at UAB,” Neal admitted. “That I got that far is a testament to the great achievements that we’ve accomplished at Oregon. I’m thankful for all the help and support I received from the Oregon family. I decided to not pursue this opportunity because of the love I have for this program. The coaches, players, support staff, friends, donors, alumni, fans and family that make this a unique place is why I’m staying.”

Neal has 34 years of coaching experience, including time with secondaries from the Pac-12, SEC, Conference USA and the Western Athletic Conference. He’s spent 11 years at Oregon, where he’s coached 10 first-team all-conference selections, the most recent being returning third-team All-American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.

Neal is coming off an excellent year with the Ducks, leading a secondary ranked 21st nationally in pass defense (204.5 yards) and seventh in pass efficiency defense. His group only gave up 14 touchdown passes all year, as well.

Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur