Dallas Cowboys: Zack Baun interview another sign of 3-4 switch

The personnel moves by the Dallas Cowboys have suggested they could switch to a 3-4 defense and their interview with Zack Baun is more evidence of such a change.

When the Dallas Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy as head coach, he brought in someone he knew to run the defense: Mike Nolan. A former head coach himself, Nolan has been in the NFL as a coach since 1087 when he was the Denver Broncos special teams coach.

His most successful seasons as an assistant coach came during his time with the Baltimore Ravens where he was the defensive coordinator of their 3-4 defense. And for the majority of his career, he has worked in the same defensive format.

Now in Dallas, he takes over a team that was built to run a 4-3 front, although the former is not unfamiliar to the Cowboys. They ran a three-man front for years when Bill Parcells shifted to that philosophy and continued to do so until Jason Garrett hired Monte Kiffen and then later Rod Marinelli.

So far, there have been no formal announcements of Nolan converting the defense but many of their moves suggest it could be happening. They added two players who have familiarity in the formation in defensive linemen Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe. That’s without even mentioning Aldon Smith, who was a low-risk high-reward signing that also played in such a defense.

Now, they offered even more proof of a switch in philosophy as they recently had a virtual meeting with Zack Baun from Wisconsin. The Cowboys shared some of that meeting on their official website which saw Baun speak to them about his love for the game and how his motor is his No. 1 asset.

In years past, the Cowboys wouldn’t have entertained such a meeting. Baun isn’t a player with a defined position as he’s a tweener who checked into the NFL Combine at 6-2 and 238 pounds. While that could be good size for a traditional linebacker, he’s a better fit as a pass rusher evidenced by his 12.5 sacks in 2019.

Should Dallas end up drafting Baun at No. 17 overall, it would surely be to use him at what he does best — get after the quarterback. Having said that, there’s very little chance a 238-pound player would be put as a defensive end in a four-man line.

He could, however, find success as an off the line pass rusher similar to the role T.J. Watt, another Wisconsin linebacker, occupies for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cowboys fans remember all too well that the team elected not to draft Watt due to his size and instead went for Taco Charlton. Watt has gone on to do great things in Pittsburgh whereas Charlton is already out in Big D.

This isn’t to say Baun is the second coming of Watt, but it shows this staff is more willing to look at the player’s talent ahead of their “ideal fit.”

Whether the interview means they’re more open to players who don’t fit their defensive set up or that they are switching their scheme, it does mean things are changing in Dallas, which should be a good thing.