Ravens DC Receives Impassioned Endorsement From Fellow Coach

"When we were struggling last year, I watched him stand in front of these mics every week and talk to you all, and he didn't flinch," Smith said. "I also watched him stand in front of the room [when we] played the Bengals, and it wasn't like we were celebrating because, from a defensive standpoint, they did a lot. They had a great day on us. Zach Orr looked those players in the eye, and he never lets the highs get too high or the lows get too low; he stayed in the middle."

Orr maintained a positive attitude and mentality throughout the rocky start, taking responsibility for the unit's shortcomings while holding players and his fellow coaches accountable for the roles they played at the same time.

"He would tell everybody, and he would show everybody how close we were to actually having success," Smith said. "It might be an angle of a defensive back running to the ball, or it might be a pass rusher that ran past the quarterback, and the quarterback ran. Zach would stand and talk to everybody, and he led."

While the Ravens brought in former Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Dean Pees during the season in a senior advisory role to serve as a sounding board for Orr and the rest of the staff as they tried to fix their issues on the fly, Smith doesn't think Orr got enough credit for the vital part he played in the unit's incredible turnaround.

"Zach Orr did it," Smith said. "Zach Orr, in those rooms, with the coaches, he led, he made the changes in support with [head] coach [John] Harbaugh and the guys on that staff. But, Zach Orr truly led the charge. I'm a witness to it, and I've been wanting to say this, because the dude is the truth."

Smith confidently believes that the former undrafted free agent turned All Pro turned coach is on track "to be one of the best coordinators in the league" due in large part to his intellect, leadership and tenacious work ethic.

"I've got to give Zach most of the credit for the adjustments that happened in that secondary, and also [in] helping us coaches," Smith said. "He's like the 'youngest in charge,' that's what I call him. He's a special coach, and I'm really blessed to be around a guy like that."

Some pundits speculated last offseason when the Ravens opted to promote Orr from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, passing over more experienced internal candidates such as Anthony Weaver and Dennard Wilson, it was because they wanted him to be the eventual successor at head coach. However, with Harbaugh receiving a three-year extension that has him signed through the 2028 season, Orr could continue to follow in Macdonald's footsteps instead and get hired to lead a team elsewhere in the next four years.