Notre Dame Box The Notre Dame Box was a variation of the single - wing formation used in American football , with great success by Notre Dame in college football and the Green Bay Packers of the 1920s and 1930s in the NFL . Green Bay ' s coach , Curly Lambeau , learned the Notre Dame Box while playing for Knute Rockne in the late 1910s . The Notre Dame Box differed from the traditional single - wing in that the line was balanced and the halfback who normally played the " wing " in the single - wing was brought in more tightly , with the option of shifting out to the wing . These two changes made the backs ' formation resemble a square ( hence the " box " ) and made the formation less predictable , allowing offenses to run more easily to the " weak " side . Additionally , the halfback became a more viable runner than in the single - wing and the quarterback , normally just a blocking back in the single - wing , could become a passer since the center could snap the ball directly to him . The Notre Dame Box relied on a great deal of deception , caused by backs shifting frequently , rather than the pure power of the single - wing . Teams would often adopt the Notre Dame Box if they lacked a true " triple threat " tailback , necessary for effective single - wing use . The Packers , using the Notre Dame Box almost exclusively , won three straight NFL titles from 1929 - 1931 . From 1936 through 1945 , Green Bay made use of the Notre Dame Box to exploit Don Hutson ' s receiving ability . Bringing the halfback in tight allowed Hutson to split out from the line , making him an even more potent threat . Hutson , impossible to cover one - on - one by any defensive back of his day , averaged a touchdown every five times he caught the ball , a mark that no receiver has rivaled in NFL history . Green Bay added three more championships employing the Notre Dame Box after 1933 ( when official championship games began ) , beating the Boston Redskins 21 - 6 in 1936 , defeating the New York Giants 27 - 0 in 1939 , and beating the Giants again in 1944 by a score of 14 - 7 . Green Bay tailback s of those years were among the first NFL passers to post " modern " numbers . Arnie Herber was the first NFL player to pass for over 1000 yards in 1936 , throwing for 1239 yards and 11 touchdowns . Of that , 526 yards and 8 TDs were to Hutson . In 1939 , Herber and Cecil Isbell combined for 1856 yards passing and 14 touchdowns . In 1941 , Isbell broke Herber ' s single season record with 1470 yards passing and 15 touchdowns ; he bettered his own marks in 1942 with 2021 yards passing and 24 TDs . 1942 was also the year Don Hutson shattered his own NFL records with 1211 yards receiving and 17 TDs , all in 11 games . The Chicago Bears ' s and Clark Shaughnessy ' s Stanford Indians success with a modernized version of the T - formation in the 1940s eventually led to the demise of the Notre Dame Box , as well as all single - wing variants . The Packers finally switched to the T - formation , after Don Hutson had retired , in 1947 . No major NCAA or NFL team has used this formation since and much of the knowledge ( i . e . playbooks ) associated with this formation are no longer available . Modern use of the Notre Dame Box . Use of the Notre Dame Box in modern times has been limited in part due to changes in football rulebooks regarding motion . The frequent shifts in the backfield that are employed by the system are still legal , but teams must now set themselves in a formation for at least one second before snapping the ball or sending a player into " motion " . This motion player must be moving backward or laterally . Canadian football never adopted these changes , and ( even though it is not used in that variant of the sport ) the original version of the system is still legal . In the late 1990s , Western Harnett High School of Lillington , North Carolina was featured on ESPN after their program experienced a major turnaround credited to their employment of the Notre Dame Box . The head coach of that team , Travis Conner , later moved on to Jacksonville High School in nearby Jacksonville , North Carolina and installed the Notre Dame Box there , as well . He then moved onto Bunker Hill High School and completely transformed their football program , with the new system Bunker Hill produced 3 top 10 rushers with the leader being Reggie Davis who rushed for a single season near 2 , 000 yards . In 2010 , Keith Kenyon took over the head coaching duties of the Varsity Football team at Nauset Regional High School in Massachusetts . His single wing offense is largely based on the Notre Dame Box formation . Since his arrival , he has taken a downtrodden Nauset team to a playoff contender in his first 2 years . Nauset went 6 - 5 in 2010 , 8 - 3 in 2011 , and 9 - 2 in 2012 due to the success of the Notre Dame Box . Also during the 2011 season , Nauset played in the Atlantic Coast League Championship game on Thanksgiving Day against rival , and eventual undefeated D - II State Champion , Dennis - Yarmouth , for a chance to qualify for the playoffs . In 2012 , Nauset once again played for the Atlantic Coast League Championship against Plymouth South . Nauset came into the game undefeated , but ultimately lost 13 - 12 on a last second hook - and - ladder pass , barely missing out on the MIAA State Playoffs for the second year in a row . Before coach Kenyon arrived at Nauset in 2010 , the football team had a combined record of 5 - 46 since 2005 , including back - to - back winless seasons in 2005 and 2006 , and also a 27 - game losing streak from 2004 - 2007 . Kenyon ' s single wing Notre Dame Box undoubtedly turned around the Nauset football program and turned them into one of the most dangerous and prolific teams in Eastern Massachusetts . The formation is very prevalent in the north of England , and is used by many teams in BUAFL and BAFL due to the lack of talented passers as well at the unpredictable weather conditions .