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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The last time Zach Orr sat on the stage of the Baltimore Ravens auditorium for a news conference was January 2017, when the game was suddenly ripped away from him. Orr was forced to announce his retirement at the age of 24 because of a congenital spine and neck condition that was discovered during an end-of-season physical.
Seven years later, Orr found himself back on that same stage, fulfilling a passion that began as soon as his All-Pro playing career had ended. Last week, he was introduced as the ninth defensive coordinator in Ravens history, getting promoted one day after Mike Macdonald left to become the Seattle Seahawks‘ head coach.
In putting his stamp on this defense, Orr wants to produce, as he puts it, “organized chaos.”
“Present a lot of problems to the offense,” Orr said. “Never give the answer to the offense before the snap. Hit everything that moves. We’re going to play violent.”
Orr’s quick ascent in the coaching ranks comes as no surprise given what he did as a player. An undrafted rookie linebacker out of North Texas, Orr was Baltimore’s best special teams player by his second season and the team’s leading tackler by his third year.
But, in Week 16 of the 2017 season, he suffered a stinger and continued to experience pain in his neck. A CAT scan after the season revealed that the first cervical vertebrae at the top of his spine never fully formed, putting him at an increased risk for fatality and paralysis.
After announcing his retirement, Orr received a call from Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who heard about his interest in coaching and told him that then-general manager Ozzie Newsome would be in contact. The next day, Orr didn’t wait for Newsome. He was blowing up Newsome’s phone. The Ravens hired Orr to be a coaching and personnel assistant in 2017 and 2018.
“I didn’t have time to sit there and hang my head. I got right back to work,” Orr said. “Them doing that for me just shows that they had my back in a tough situation. So they’re going to get everything I’ve got out of me. I bleed purple and black.”
Orr became a defensive coaching analyst for Baltimore in 2019 and 2020 before spending one season as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ outside linebackers coach in 2021. He returned to the Ravens to coach the inside linebackers the past two seasons. Last year, both Baltimore inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen made the Pro Bowl.
“While it’s unfortunate that his career was cut short due to injury, I feel like he carries that same passion over to the game of football and coaching,” Smith said. “I know his mentality is very similar to mine. So I’m stoked. I just know it’s going to be great for us.”
At 31, Orr is the NFL’s second-youngest coordinator. Only Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis is younger at 30.
Orr will be coaching starting nose tackle Michael Pierce, who is a former teammate. Pierce was a rookie in Orr’s final season.
“He challenges guys on a level that only a former player could,” Pierce said. “He also can see the game and coach the game from a coach’s point of view, as well as a player’s. Zach knows what it means to be a Raven and carry the shield. He is a true Raven.”
Orr is the first Ravens player to become a coordinator for the team. Over the last two decades, there have been other former All-Pro players to successfully transition to the coordinator role such as Mike Vrabel and DeMeco Ryans.
While playing has given Orr a unique perspective as a coach, he has never been a defensive playcaller. Three years ago, he got the advice to watch film on his own and dissect it as if he were a coordinator. He envisioned how he would call the game and stop certain game plans.
“I think when you’re a linebackers coach, that’s an advantage because you’re in the middle of the defense, [and] you understand the whole defense inside and out,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “You have a big picture. [It] helps you with defensive playcalling, for sure.”
Orr understands the tradition of excellence on defense. Since 2000, the Ravens have allowed the fewest points (18.4) and the second-fewest yards (307.3) per game. Last season, Baltimore became the first team to lead the NFL in scoring defense (16.5), most sacks (60) and most takeaways (tied for first with 31).
Ravens outside linebacker Odafe Oweh called Orr “a catalyst” for last year’s defense. He praised Orr for the insight and intelligence that he brings with every slide of film. It’s also not just what Orr says. It’s how he says it, as well.
“One thing I always notice about Zach is that his voice is always loud,” Oweh said. “It’s always in the highest pitch, and you have to respect it because it never wavers. He’s always bringing that action. He’s always bringing that energy to just make sure that everyone is on their toes and make sure every guy is at the same level.”
Orr follows a long line of successful defensive coordinators in Baltimore. Five of the Ravens’ eight defensive playcallers have left to become NFL head coaches: Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan, Rex Ryan, Chuck Pagano and Macdonald.
With it long being assumed Macdonald was headed for a head coaching job, Harbaugh spoke to Orr on the two days following Baltimore’s 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Harbaugh was asking him questions and “grilling” him about the defense, according to Orr.
On that third day, which was Jan. 31, the Seahawks hired Macdonald and Harbaugh summoned Orr to his office. Orr didn’t know what Harbaugh wanted, thinking he had answered every possible question.
Harbaugh asked Orr, “Are you ready to call it?”
Since becoming defensive coordinator, Orr estimated that he’s gotten 800 text messages from friends, former coaches, ex-teammates and current players.
“It was tough initially when I had to come in and sit with you guys last time [in this auditorium] and hang up the cleats, hang up the pads [and] hang up the helmet,” Orr said. “[But] I fell in love with the game as a coach, and now we’re here. It definitely was a crazy journey from that moment last time I was here until now.”
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