Former Ravens LB Settling in as DC

A new face is taking over the Baltimore Ravens' vaunted defense.

Dec 18, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Zachary Orr (54) is congratulated by cornerback Tavon Young (36) after an interception in the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports / Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens have a new face taking over the defense this season, or more accurately, a familiar face is moving up.

After Mike Macdonald left to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, the Ravens promoted assistant Zach Orr to take his place. Orr is very familiar with the Ravens organization, as he played for them from 2014-2016, served as a defensive analyst from 2017-2020 and then returned as an inside linebackers coach from 2022-2023.

As he begins this new chapter of his career, Orr is drawing on his past experience to guide him.

"When you're a player, a lot of times, you think you have all the answers. You're like, 'Man, we could do this, we could do that,'" Orr said, per BaltimoreRavens.com. "But when you step back and you become a coach and you become a play-caller, you kind of see the bigger picture of things."

Orr will certainly put his own stamp on the Ravens defense, but he won't be reinventing the wheel. After all, Macdonald's system allowed Baltimore to have the league's best defense last season, and as a student of Macdonald, Orr knows what makes it so effective.

"We've been building this system for a long, long time – since 2018," Orr said. "The people that were here that are at other places, they'll tell you, 'The gameplan is going to change week-to-week, so based off what you do is basically how we're going to play you.' … We're just going to do what we do and play how we play."

The 31-year-old has had success as a coach thus far, but moving up to the coordinator ranks requires some adjustments. Play-calling is a big new responsibility, but a bigger adjustment comes in toning down his intense passion when needed.

"I'm definitely going to express my excitement when the time is right, but I definitely have to be aware of that," Orr said. "Things get moving quick, and you have to be planning ahead. You have the call, what is the next call that you're thinking? What's the down and distance? What's the situation? What have you done before? What do you want to do next?"

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