Orr faces uphill battle to rebuild proud defense
When Todd Monken became the Ravens’ offensive coordinator last winter, he said his unit would be a work in progress.
That’s the description of the defense for the 2024 season.
Zach Orr, 31, was introduced to the media for the first time Tuesday as the team’s defensive coordinator, a job previously held by Mike Macdonald for two years until he was named coach of the Seattle Seahawks nearly a week ago.
Everybody within the Ravens organization likes Orr, from coach John Harbaugh to Poe, the team mascot. But the former linebacker has a huge task in front of him in trying to rebuild a defense that led the league in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and points allowed per game (16.1) last season and is losing three defensive assistants.
On Tuesday he sounded like someone still playing.
“I want our defense to play together, first and foremost — 11 people playing as one, let’s start there,” he said. “The next thing is, I want it to be violent — very violent, physical. That’s just the standard here.
“Everything we’re going to do is going to be with physicality and violence. Then, just execution — executing at a high level, executing in certain situations, executing all the time.
“Then the last thing I would say, ‘organized chaos.’ Present a lot of problems to the offense. Never give the answer to the offense before the snap, but that’s what I would say. Identify first things first, hit everything that moves.”
Orr has charisma, which allows him to relate to not only the star players he has coached — such as former Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen — but the classic overachievers.
He was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent from North Texas in 2014 and played in 46 career games over three seasons, recording 163 tackles. He was named second-team All-Pro in 2016 before being forced to retire the following year because of a congenital neck/spine condition.
But this upcoming season will be different than anything he’s ever experienced. Orr has to devise and implement a game plan and call plays for the first time. That’s another step in the progression from assistant to coordinator.
“I have to be on the field,” Orr said. “I have to look players in their eyes and see what’s going on and get a feel for how guys are feeling out there . ... I’m more into it and getting the feel of emotion and how guys are really feeling out there.”
It goes beyond calling plays. The Ravens have to replace several assistants.
First, there is Macdonald, and then there is defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, who structured the front seven. He was named the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator last week.
The Ravens also need to find a replacement for defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson, who became the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator after helping the Ravens to a No. 6 ranking in pass defense, and an inside linebackers coach to step in for Orr, who had one of the most productive tandems in the NFL last season in Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.
All had great relationships with their players, and that’s hard to build in the modern era of pro football in which everything is centered around image and ego.
When it comes to filling out the defensive staff, Harbaugh will have the final say on hiring his assistants, though Orr might have some input. But you can bank on Harbaugh having more say during practices and games, especially with Orr being so young and this being his first coordinator position.
“The final decision is Coach Harbaugh’s and [executive vice president and general manager] Eric DeCosta’s, but I’m very much involved with it,” Orr said of the staff. “They do a great job of letting me be in on the interviews, run the interviews and communicating back and forth. It’s an open line of communication.
“Every year, when you’re building a team, building a staff, you have to build that trust, build that camaraderie, that teamwork. You have to build that every single year. Every year you have to build it up, but I’m confident in the people we have.
“Once we get the staff filled out we’ll be able to build that trust. We’ll be able to build that teamwork and be the best staff we can possibly be for our players.”
Orr and the Ravens will also have to wrestle with the salary cap. They have more than 20 pending free agents, including several defensive players who will command top dollar in tackle/end Justin Madubuike, Queen and possibly safety Geno Stone.
Madubuike had 13 sacks to lead the team, which is rare for an interior lineman. Queen was second on the team in tackles with 133. Stone ranked second in the NFL with seven interceptions. Even outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney played with a rejuvenated spirit at age 30 with 9 ½ sacks.
The Ravens have already locked in longterm contracts with their two top players. They signed Smith to a five-year, $100 million extension in January 2023 and then agreed to a five-year, $260 million deal with quarterback Lamar Jackson in late April. Those deals increase in salary every season, which decreases the amount of cap room.
Baltimore might be able to bring back one or two of its top defensive players, but not four or five. Unfortunately, there are some top offensive free agents on the list too, such as right guard Kevin Zeitler, running back Gus Edwards, and wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor.
The Ravens might have to start the
2024 season similarly to 2023, when they had to count on young pass rushers such as outside linebackers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo. So far, neither has shown he is worthy of his draft status.
Oweh, a first-round pick out of Penn State in 2021, played in only 13 games during the regular season, starting five. Ojabo, a second-round pick from Michigan in 2022, has been bothered by leg injuries the past two seasons and has played very little.
Both are still labeled as projects.
There is also a sense of urgency for players such as safety Marcus Williams and cornerback Marlon Humphrey to return to top form after missing substantial playing time this past season.
It’s an uphill fight for Orr, but he has already spoken to several players.
“He brings passion on the field, off the field and in the meeting rooms as well as his football IQ and the ability to relate to players,” Smith said. “He’s very young and (he) has been in the game recently, so I think overall it’s a really good fit for our defense. Everybody around the building respects him.”
The Ravens have a proud tradition of putting together physical and intimidating defenses. That dates to 2000, with the record-setting unit led by linebackers Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware and defensive linemen Sam Adams, Rob Burnett, Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams.
They have also had some good defensive coordinators, such as Rex Ryan, Chuck Pagano, Dean Pees, Don “Wink” Martindale and Macdonald.
But maybe none of them faced such a daunting rebuild in terms of coaches and players as Orr does.
It might take some time. This appears to be another work in progress.