Ravens Promote Zach Orr to Defensive Coordinator

The former inside linebackers coach gets the biggest opportunity of his career.

The Baltimore Ravens have promoted inside linebackers coach Zach Orr to defensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday.

Orr, 31, will replace former DC Mike Macdonald, who accepted the head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday.

The meteoric rise for Ravens’ coaches continues this offseason with Orr’s promotion. He spent the past two seasons as the Ravens’ inside linebackers coach, and his roots in Baltimore trace all the way back to when he signed as a rookie free agent with the Ravens in 2014. Orr played three seasons with Baltimore before retiring from the NFL due to a congenital neck/spine condition.

Baltimore moved quickly to promote Orr after Macdonald’s departure and defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson’s reported acceptance of the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator job. Former Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz also left the franchise this week to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ general manager.

We have named Zach Orr our new Defensive Coordinator ‼️ pic.twitter.com/IA2RiE5Yct

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 1, 2024

The Ravens are likely to lose more front office members and coaches as Macdonald, Wilson and Hortiz build their staffs. They will, however, get to keep Orr, who will have the biggest opportunity of his coaching career as the team’s new defensive coordinator in 2024.

“Zach is a homegrown Raven in every way,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Orr’s promotion. “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. … He knows our players and understands our standard as well as anyone. 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.”