Baltimore Ravens Promoted Zach Orr to Defensive Coordinator

I love seeing former players join and excel in the coaching ranks. Yesterday it happened again as the Baltimore Ravens promoted Zach Orr to Defensive Coordinator. He is replacing Mike Macdonald who was recently hired as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Orr was an undrafted linebacker who became an All-Pro Linebacker and then morphed into a linebackers coach. It’s safe to say he is fully immersed in the defensive side of the ball.

Curiously head coach John Harbaugh did not attend the press conference introducing Orr as the Defensive Coordinator. Perhaps he had other matters to attend to. At any rate it gave Orr plenty of opportunity to speak with the media about his promotion. Orr had to retire from playing earlier than he wanted to due to a congenital neck/spine issue. He consulted several doctors and specialists hoping to find a way to continue to play. However, no team would medically clear him to play. And that’s where Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti stepped in. Orr shared the conversation he had with him.

“But [Bisciotti] called me [and said], ‘Man, I understand you wanted to get into coaching. We think highly of you, [and] everybody speaks the world of you. I’ve seen you work. Everybody says you’re a hard worker, and I know you want to get into coaching,’” Orr said of the phone call. “He was like, ‘I would love to have you back in the organization, if that’s something you want to do.’ And he was like, ‘We’ll get [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] in contact with you.’ So, I said, ‘Great.’ I said, ‘Thank you. I’ll be right back.’”

Baltimore Ravens Promoted Zach Orr to Defensive Coordinator

Orr is not intimidated being young, 31 and being the defensive play caller for the first time. Regarding his style, he did say, “I want it to be violent, very violent, physical.” It reminded me of what Antonio Pierce said he wanted for the Raiders. But of course, the Ravens have had top ten defenses for several years running. In the 2023 season they were the first defense to finish number 1 in the league in points per game allowed, sacks and takeaways. That’s a huge legacy to live up to and continue. But Orr is confident that he is the man for the job.

As a reminder, the National Football Honors Red Carpet show starts at 8pm ET and the 13t h Annual NFL Honors is at 9pm ET. We’ll bring you the recap of all the honorees. Stay tuned.

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