Owings Mills, Maryland — The Baltimore Ravens hired Zach Orr as defensive coordinator after Mike Macdonald resigned to become the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach earlier this week.
The Ravens announced Orr’s promotion on Thursday. He is 31 years old. He was Baltimore’s inside linebackers coach for the last two seasons and played linebacker for the Ravens from 2014 to 2016.
“Zach is a homegrown Raven in every way,” Coach John Harbaugh stated. “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.”
After retiring from playing due to a congenital neck/spine ailment, Orr worked as a coaching and personnel assistant for the Ravens before becoming a defensive coaching analyst. He spent one season (2021) coaching outside linebackers for the Jacksonville Jaguars before returning to the Ravens.
He has taught inside linebackers for the past two seasons, which are one of Baltimore’s strengths along with Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.
“Zach has excelled at every level of his football journey,” Harbaugh stated in a statement. “He knows our athletes and understands our standards better than anyone. I’m convinced that he is ready to take on the job of further developing our players and scheme as our next defensive coordinator.”
This season, the Ravens lead the NFL in scoring defense and sacks while posting the league’s best record. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game before losing to Kansas City last Sunday.
Baltimore plans to present Orr at a news conference next week.
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