Has any team every switched to the 3-4 and then switched back to the 4-3?

[EndGame]

I'm asking a serious question. I can't think of this happening before.

[ScipioCowboy]

The 49ers in the mid 90s.

[NickZepp]

We played the 3-4 for almost a decade. I'm sure NFL teams over the decades have changed defenses before.

[blindzebra]

NE several times in the last 10 years.

Denver.

Baltimore.

[JeffInDC]

Originally Posted by EndGame

I'm asking a serious question. I can't think of this happening before.

The Broncos just did that. They were a 3-4 under McDaniels. The Patriots just did that as well. They are a 4-3 base now.

[perrykemp]

Green played played a 3-4 in the 90s -- Reggie White played in it for 1 year and then they switched to a 4-3. They switched back to a 3-4 when Dom Capers became their DC in 2009.

Notably, they tried converting some guys from 4-3 to 3-4 and it didn't go well -- most notably Aaron Kampman.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by EndGame

I'm asking a serious question. I can't think of this happening before.

Wade Phillips ran a 3-4 in Buffalo and Atlanta and they switched back as soon as he left. Dom Capers ran it in Carolina and John Fox scrapped it.

[ScipioCowboy]

It seems, during the 1980s, there was a movement towards 3 man fronts. During the 1990s, there was a movement back towards 4 man fronts. And, during the 2000s, there was a return to 3 man fronts.

The preference is cyclical. This is just my own observation. Feel free to chime in if you think I'm wrong.