Devaney also served as the athletic director at Nebraska from 1967 to 1993, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1981.

Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty also turned down Dye, but recommended Devaney, his former assistant, for the Cornhuskers.

[6] Devaney engineered an immediate turnaround with a 9–2 record in 1962 that included a victory in the Gotham Bowl at Yankee Stadium over the Miami Hurricanes.

Devaney followed this up with an even better 10–1 season the next year, including a perfect 7–0 record in the Big Eight to claim the conference title and an Orange Bowl victory over Auburn.

Devaney and Osborne revamped the offensive scheme, an I formation with an unbalanced line, and upgraded the recruiting effort.

When Nebraska crushed unbeaten Alabama 38–6 in the Orange Bowl to finish 13–0, the Cornhuskers were said by many to be the greatest team in college football history.

[13] In fact, the Huskers defeated the teams ranked second, third, and fourth in the final AP Poll: Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama.

[15] Although a disappointing loss to UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum opened the season, the Huskers finished with a 9–2–1 record.

The loss to UCLA ended Nebraska's 32-game unbeaten streak, which dated back nearly three years to October 11, 1969, when they lost at Missouri.

Following the 1972 season, Devaney stepped down as head coach at age 57 and hired his protégé to succeed him, offensive coordinator Tom Osborne.