John Harbaugh didn’t worry about going young with his last defensive coordinator, and after that worked out well, he isn’t worried about going young with the next one.
A day after Mike Macdonald, 36, was hired as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Harbaugh on Feb. 1 named inside linebackers coach Zach Orr, 31, to succeed Macdonald as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.
Orr is expected to meet with the media next week at an introductory news conference, though the date has not been finalized.
As he did with the then 34-year-old Macdonald two years ago, Harbaugh showed that he’s willing to take a chance on a rookie coordinator in whom he sees tremendous upside.
“Zach is a homegrown Raven in every way,” Harbaugh said in a statement released by the team. “His energy, intelligence, work ethic and strong communication skills have been on display since the day he joined our organization as a player in 2014.
“From making our team as an undrafted rookie, to becoming an All-Pro linebacker, then later transitioning to an assistant coach who helped mentor multiple Pro Bowl defenders,” Harbaugh continued, “Zach has excelled at every level of his football journey.”
Orr began his coaching career in 2017 after his promising career was cut short. Undrafted out of North Texas, Orr signed with the Ravens and joined the long line of undrafted inside linebackers who made an impact for the team.
In 2016, he set a career high with 133 tackles and was named second-team All-Pro, but he had to abruptly retire after that season because of a congenital neck and spine condition. He broke into coaching with the team the next season as a coaching and personnel assistant and spent four years in lower-level roles with the Ravens before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars as outside linebackers coach in 2021.
Orr returned to the Ravens the next season and spent the past two seasons as the inside linebackers coach. Ravens inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen both made the Pro Bowl this season.
As Orr takes on his largest responsibility yet, he will face enormous pressure to replicate the success the Ravens’ defense enjoyed under Macdonald, and he’ll probably be asked to do that with major changes to the roster and coaching staff.
Macdonald’s defense this year became the first in NFL history to lead the league in sacks (60), turnovers (31) and scoring defense, allowing a league-low 16.5 points a game. Nine of the Ravens’ 17 regular-season opponents scored one or zero touchdowns. In the playoffs, the Ravens held both their opponents, Houston and Kansas City, to a combined total of zero second-half points.
Harbaugh historically has hired from within when filling that position, so it’s no surprise that he did so again. Macdonald was hired after one season as defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan, but he had spent the previous seven years with the Ravens. Before that, Don “Wink” Martindale, Dean Pees, Chuck Pagano and Greg Mattison all were promoted from within for the Ravens defensive coordinator job under Harbaugh.
Defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson was considered a strong candidate to succeed Macdonald but took the job as defensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. Defensive line coach Anthony Weaver was a finalist for the Washington Commanders’ head coaching job, which went to Dan Quinn, but Weaver remains a candidate for the defensive coordinator job at Miami.
If Weaver leaves, the Ravens will have coaching vacancies at all three levels of the defense.
The Ravens also have more than a dozen free agents on defense, including Queen, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Arthur Maulet and safety Geno Stone.
Orr, though, has two All-Pro cornerstones on defense returning in Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton, and it’s possible the Ravens will use the franchise tag to retain Madubuike as well.
Orr also figures to retain much of Macdonald’s system, and he already has the respect of returning players. Harbaugh suggested both of those will help make this transition seamless.
“He knows our players and understands our standards as well as anyone,” Harbaugh said. “I’m confident that he is prepared to take on the challenge of continuing to develop our players and scheme as our next defensive coordinator.”
Photo Credit: Joey Pulone/Baltimore Ravens