How memory CD4 T cells contribute to protection upon pathogen challenge is not fully understood. Beyond traditional helper functions for CD8 T cell and B cell responses, memory CD4 T cells can have a potent impact on the character and a magnitude of inflammatory responses. Here we discuss how memory CD4 T cell control of innate immunity at early time points after pathogen encounters can influence protective responses. We also discuss important aspects of the mechanism whereby memory CD4 T cells directly and indirectly impact the activation status of antigen-presenting cells and production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines from multiple cell types. We suggest that control of innate immune responses by the adaptive immune system is a powerful protective mechanism associated with the memory state and represents an important fail-safe in the face of pathogens that fail to trigger robust inflammatory responses through conserved pattern recognition receptors.