Vairo became head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey team in 1983, and led them to a first-place finish in Group B at the 1983 Ice Hockey World Championships, and earned a berth in ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics. The team he took to the Olympics in Sarajevo had an average age of 20.7 years old, which was the youngest composition of the national team at the time. The team featured future NHL star Chris Chelios on defense, along with a forward line nicknamed the "diaper line" due to the young ages of Pat LaFontaine, David Jensen and Eddie Olczyk. Vairo led the team to two wins, two losses and two draw, and a seventh-place finish. He felt that team did not play to its potential, and believed that he had "acted too soft" in coaching them. It was the worst Olympic result for the United States hockey team at the time. Vairo stated that, "I took the Olympic coaching position in 1984 because no one else wanted it" due to the daunting task of defending the gold medal from 1980.