Zach Orr, the new defensive coordinator for the Ravens, thinks he’s ready to take the call.
Zach Orr made an effort to think positively, but it wasn’t simple. He was only twenty-four. He was a rising star on the defensive line with the Baltimore Ravens. A few weeks prior, he had concluded his first complete season as a starter and received some votes for the All-Pro team.
The North Texas native inside linebacker, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent, was getting close to earning a sizable salary.
However, his career abruptly ended. After just three professional seasons, he was forced to declare his retirement in January 2017 due to a congenital neck/spine problem that was found at his year-end physical.
I really saw it as a blessing when I learned the news and realized how severe it is, Orr remarked at the time at a press conference held at the Under Armour Performance Center.
I see it like this: one door closes, and another opens. I’m prepared for the next opportunity to present itself and to seize it when it does.
Orr considered how unlikely it all was as he sat in the team auditorium seven years later, almost exactly in the same spot in front of the room. His playing career ended prematurely and heartbreakingly, but coaching helped him move past it. His passion and sense of purpose were fulfilled through coaching.
Currently, Orr is the second-youngest defensive coordinator in the NFL at the age of 31, having only served as a position coach for three seasons. He’s ready to take charge of a defense that this past season was perhaps the finest in the entire league.
I find a little more meaning in this. I don’t work for any other organization as a National Football League coach alone.
No, I’m coaching for the company that supported me, Orr declared on Tuesday at a press conference. They didn’t really let me lay my head down when I went through what I went through.
They’re going to get all I have because they supported me throughout a difficult time, as demonstrated by their doing that for me. It has meaning, as I mentioned. I bleed dark and purple.
The press conference on Tuesday brought an end to Orr’s disorienting eight-day span, which began with the Ravens’ AFC championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Orr first spoke with Ravens coach John Harbaugh about the team’s possible defensive coordinator opening the day following the game.
It was widely known that Mike Macdonald, the defensive coordinator for Baltimore, had head coaching interviews with the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders, and it was likely that he would be hired for one of those positions.
John Harbaugh expressed his heartbreak at the Ravens’ forfeited chance to compete in this year’s Super Bowl.
There was a sense inside the Ravens facilities at the time that Orr would be McDonald’s defensive coordinator, wherever he landed. On Monday, Orr was also considered by the Green Bay Packers for the position of defensive coordinator.
Orr said that Harbaugh and he had very detailed conversations on Tuesday during their interview. It was acknowledged that Harbaugh would need to act quickly.
Orr, assistant head coach and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, and defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson, who were his top three internal contenders to follow Macdonald, were all being courted by other employers for positions.
The Ravens defense, which became the first in NFL history to lead the league in fewest points allowed, turnovers created, and sacks, attracted attention from all corners.
On Wednesday morning, Orr went to an interview with the Packers. He could have gone with that or Seattle, which on Wednesday morning selected Macdonald as its head coach.
Orr and McDonald’s are close. After one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Orr returned to the team in 2022, and Macdonald returned to the position of defensive coordinator after spending a year at the University of Michigan.
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Harbaugh called Orr into his office later that day.
Man, what do you want to talk about? I think to myself. We’ve been chatting since Monday and Tuesday. As in, What’s up? I believe I addressed all of your inquiries, Orr remarked. Wednesday, while we were still chatting, he asked, ‘Are you ready to call it?’ I said to myself, Yes, I’m ready.
I had an enormous smile on my face. All I can say is that I’m grateful for his faith in me. I’m going to put forth endless effort and try my hardest to put things right.
Orr’s first task will be to assist Harbaugh in appointing new defensive coordinators. Wilson was hired as the defensive coordinator by the Tennessee Titans.
The Ravens have reportedly hired Doug Mallory, a former defensive backs coach for the Atlanta Falcons and defensive analyst from Michigan, to replace Wilson.
After Weaver became the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, they are still in need of a defensive line coach. In addition, they must find a replacement for Orr in the inside linebacker coaching position.
After that, Orr can concentrate on adding his own touch to the defense and expanding on the work done in 2023 by the team under Macdonald, whose ability to identify and exploit offensive weaknesses and make game-changing adjustments kept the Baltimore defensive one step ahead of opponents.
Orr declared, Let’s start there. I want our defense to play together, first and foremost—11 people playing as one. The second point is that I want it to be physically brutal.
Here, that’s just the norm. There is going to be brutality and physicality in whatever we do. Next, there is only execution: high-level execution, situation-specific execution, and constant execution.
