The Baltimore Ravens lost a handful of coaches just days after their AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was the biggest name to leave, taking the vacant head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks while leaving Baltimore to find his replacement.
The Ravens hired inside linebackers coach Zach Orr to succeed Macdonald, who also has three years of NFL playing experience. Inside linebacker, Roquan Smith worked closely with Orr as his positional coach and couldn’t contain his excitement when talking about the team’s newest defensive play-caller.
“I’m extremely proud of [defensive coordinator Zach Orr] Z.O., happy for him and the way he works. The guy busts his tail day in and day out. [His] career ended short, because he probably would still be playing right now if it wasn’t for that. It started from when I first got here, when I first got traded. My first day her, I remember going up to his office, meeting, going over pretty much every play. There was a lot – my head was spinning a little bit, but he was very patient with me, and he was able to teach the information that I would need in order to succeed playing a game within six days. I think that’s a credit to how he gets down [and] how he’s about his business. I’m just excited for him to show the world exactly how he calls a game and how he motivates a defense like no other.”
Orr will be calling plays for the first time as a coach, but his time as an inside linebacker should help lessen any learning curve there may be. Smith is expected to have another tremendous season, and Orr would undoubtedly be a key factor if that’s the case.