The following year, after having recommended his former Fordham player Vince Lombardi for the Packers' head coaching position, Devore was retained as freshman coach by new head coach Joe Kuharich after Terry Brennan was dismissed along with his entire staff. Then when Kuharich resigned during spring practice in March 1963, Devore was once again named interim head coach at the school. In a complete reversal of his earlier stint, Devore's one season at the helm saw Notre Dame hit rock bottom with a 2–7 record (the scheduled game at Iowa was canceled due to the Assassination of John F. Kennedy). One of the few bright spots was a midseason 17–14 upset of the University of Southern California, while the season finale against Syracuse University saw Devore adorn his team in bright green jerseys, a sharp contrast to the school's traditional blue and gold. The green jerseys did not return until Dan Devine broke them out for the 1977 matchup with USC.