The Ravens just lost a key piece to their Super Bowl run in former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who moved on to become the head coach of the Seahawks. Over the past two seasons, Macdonald built a smothering and dominating defensive unit that was the best in the NFL last season and borders historic status.
Head coach John Harbaugh elected to promote from within to replace Macdonald in inside linebackers coach and former Ravens player, Zach Orr. Orr signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2014 but retired after three seasons due to the discovery of a congenital neck/spine condition.
He's a homegrown Raven, and Harbaugh sees no issues with Orr continuing the defensive dominance started by Macdonald.
“With Zach and the guys that we have on defense and some of the younger coaches that are already here including [Outside Linebackers Coach] Chuck Smith – those guys are going to build another great defense, and I’m going to be in the middle of it, just like I’m in the middle of the offense and special teams,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m going to lean on those guys and trust those guys and empower those guys to build a great defense.”
Harbaugh also thinks Orr's experience playing the game and coaching the linebackers gives him a unique insight into coaching the defense.
“Zach is super talented and super enthusiastic,” Harbaugh said. “He’s very smart. He has prepared for that job. He’s in the middle of the defense. 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.
“You have a big picture. It helps you with defensive play calling, for sure. A linebackers coach usually has an advantage as far as that goes. There’s no reason not to put Zach in that position in my mind right now, and I think he’ll do a great job, but I also think he’ll do a great job because of the support he’s going to get.”
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