It’s rare for a coordinator to be scrutinized as much as his top players, but Zach Orr will step immediately into the spotlight in his first season running the Ravens’ defense.
That’s because the 32-year-old retired linebacker will take over for one of the most acclaimed defensive minds in football, his close friend and mentor Mike Macdonald, who’s now coaching the Seattle Seahawks.
Orr sat down recently to discuss how he knew coaching was the right fit after his playing career ended abruptly, his bond with Macdonald and how he plans to put his own stamp on the Ravens’ defensive tradition.
Your dad [Terry Orr] was an NFL player, but he did not steer you and your brothers toward football. Why did you go that way anyway?
I really think we just saw all his jerseys hanging up and all his trophies and accomplishments around the house, and that was something we looked up to and saw since we were younger. We kind of just found our way with it, and he never pushed us away from it, but he never steered us to it. But all that stuff being around, watching his old videos and tapes, that just motivated us, and we fell in love with the game on our own.
He talked about how when he was still playing in Washington, he coached your rec team in Virginia and he would have been fine if you had fun and that was it, that was the end.
I can remember maybe one time when we actually played catch with each other or worked out and trained. But he really didn’t care. When he had the pee-wee team, in the draft, he said all I want is my boys on my team, and then I’ll take whoever’s left over. So he honestly didn’t really care if we played or not. His actions spoke loudly in that regard. He never put a football in our hands. He just said, ‘It’s y’all choice, and if y’all want to do it, understand that it’s going to be hard work.’
Give us a sense of how how much football meant in [your hometown of] DeSoto, Texas.
Man, everything. Even when I was in junior high, we always went to the high school games. So many great players came through there, so at a very early age, you understood, that man, these guys are going to the National Football League. They’re going to big-time colleges. So that’s just the goal coming from that city. You see so many people be successful that you just think, ‘Hey, I’m the next man up when I get my turn.’ Football’s everything there. The city comes out Friday nights. Everything shuts down. The stadium’s packed.
Your dad said friends would visit and mistake the high school stadiums for college stadiums.
Yeah, Texas high school football is different. Stadiums seat a minimum of 10,000, and you make the playoffs, there might be 20,000 or 30,000 at your game.
Who, early on, gave you a sense of what it meant to be a good coach?
Brian Stansberry, he was my high school linebacker coach. I didn’t play linebacker my first two years. I was a safety, and he kept on telling me, ‘You’re gonna be a linebacker.’ Him teaching me the game, helping me see the game in slow motion at such a young age, that just showed me the effect a coach could have on a player. That’s the first part. The second part was just the impact this dude had on my life. He picked me up early in the morning every single day, took me to the gym, trained with me and then watched film with me, even after practice. My friends would go home and laugh at me because I’d still be in the film room with him. What he did for me as a coach and as another role model made me decide that I love the game of football and even when I’m done playing, I want to be around it. And I wanted to have an impact on people’s lives like he had on my life.
He’s like a member of the family, right?
Yeah, he was at my wedding this summer. He taught all of us in gym when we were in middle school, and then he coached all four of us [brothers] when we came through there. I know his wife and daughters real well. We’re a family.
And then your dad said he used to tell you about [Hall of Fame Washington coach] Joe Gibbs, that he was a teacher at his core.
Yeah he did. He always talked about how he was a great coach and a great person but that how he was great was he always told the players why they were doing something. Why are we running this play? Why is it going to work? He was a great teacher, and everybody there was on the same page, won a lot of games, won a couple championships.
Is that something you try to keep in mind now, that the players need to know why?
Definitely. As a player, you don’t want to feel like I’m just out here running plays. You want to know why we’re doing it, why we think it’s going to work, why I need to do this job responsibility to put the team in the best position. I definitely keep that in mind, and coach [John] Harbaugh, he holds us accountable. He coaches us and tells us, ‘Make sure these guys know the why.’
You get the medical news [in 2016] that your playing career is over, and then you’re back at your parents’ house. What was your state of mind?
I honestly was in shock, just trying to take everything and figure out, ‘Is this really happening?’ I had my family around. After a week or two, I started processing, and then it was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to start thinking about what I’m going to do next.’ I was still so young and had so much energy. I was still so hungry for the game of football. I really appreciate my family the most in that time. They stuck by me, didn’t let me be alone, encouraged me, gave me time. And then, obviously the Ravens — that’s why I say I’ll always bleed purple and black, because they had my back through it all. They constantly checked on me and told me whenever I was ready, they’d love to have me back up here.
Your older brother [Terrance II] said there were some days when he went at you like a coach.
He did. My older brother, he’s only 2 1/2 years older, but he’s like another father figure. He wasn’t going to let me put my head down. He was coaching me, like, ‘What you going to do next? It’s unfortunate what happened, but God got a bigger plan for you. So you need to pick yourself up. We’re going to figure this out.’ He wasn’t going to let me slip.
When you put so much energy into becoming what you were as an athlete, was it ever in your head that coaching might be an option down the line?
Definitely. I told people all the time. I remember vividly my rookie year in the locker room, we were just getting to know each other, and they were saying, ‘Well, what would you want to do after you’re done playing ball?’ And I said, ‘Go back to Texas and be a high school football coach.’ I always wanted to be a coach. Even if I didn’t make the National Football League, I would have been around the game in some form. I love it. And then just seeing the impact coaches had on my life through high school and college, in the pros, I knew it was something I wanted to do. To this extent? I didn’t know it was going to reach this level, but I knew I wanted to get into coaching in some way.
You joked back then that the hours were more and the notoriety was less, but when you started coaching with the Ravens, what let you know, ‘OK, I’m on the right track?’
I still had that passion and that burning desire to come into work, like I did as a player. As a player, I loved coming in early to get a workout in, staying late to watch film. And I still had that burning passion as a coach, do whatever I can to help these guys be in the best position to succeed. When I realized I still had that desite, it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing the right thing.’ My heart was in it.
What do you remember about the first time you met Mike Macdonald?
Oh man, me and Mike in the same year. He was a super young coach. He was an intern, and I was a rookie. You could see he was really passionate, and he knew a lot because he worked with so many different positions. He worked every part of the defense. He would give us young guys great pointers and great tips, and he was just a good dude. Just a good, nice young intern who knew ball.
He said what was special about you right away was you knew how to tell the players what the coaches wanted, and you knew how to tell the coaches what the players wanted. Was that your magic power as a young coach?
Definitely. Early on, I felt like I was a good bridge for both sides, because I had just got done playing, so I knew how we felt as players. But me being upstairs with the coaches, I understood how they reacted to certain things. So I would try to tell both sides, ‘Hey, look, I understand where you’re coming from. But you’ve got to see it from their point of view.’ I appreciate Mike and those guys for allowing me to do that and listening to me.
You’re in a different position now, but do you feel you still have that quality?
I think I’ve still got it. Once you’re a player, you’re always a player. Those feelings don’t leave. Obviously, I’m fully fledged as a coach, but I still tell the players, ‘I know how you’re feeling. I know How maybe your body might be. I understand sometimes you get frustrated. But understand the end goal.’ I definitely still put myself in the players’ shoes.
Kyle Hamilton said that even though you weren’t his position coach, ‘Z.O. was my guy.’ Do you think guys feel that way because of your ability to understand what they’re going through?
I definitely could connect with them. I’ve always been a guy who, regardless if you’re my position or not, I’m gonna talk to you, see how you’re doing. If I see something that could help you out, not just in football but in life, I’m going to try. I’m still fairly young, but I think guys see the maturity, the work, so I think they respect me in that aspect.
What did you get out of the year you spent away from the Ravens [2021], coaching in Jacksonville?
Facing coaching adversity and really just growing. I didn’t know anybody. The players didn’t know me; a lot of them knew I was a Raven, a former player, so you kind of get that respect off the jump. But I had to get to know these guys off the strength of what I actually did there. So I think I grew a lot. I coached a different position than I had been coaching, so I grew in football knowledge. We didn’t win a lot, so you find different ways to teach, to coach, to persevere. I tell people all the time I’m thankful for it.
Mike said that when he came back to the Ravens as defensive coordinator, he wanted you back on his stuff. Why do you think that relationship became so tight?
We got real close when he was the linebackers coach and I was basically his assistant. We leaned on each other for coaching points, leaned on each other in life, for advice. We spent three years with each other every day, just talking ball and life. I still talk to him at least once a week, even though he’s in Seattle. I do look at him as a brother and a friend.
He said the coordinator has to have the confidence that his vision is right, and he said I have no doubt Zach will have that confidence. How will you put your stamp on the defense?
I think you build that over years. You have to be confident in yourself before anything. But my vision for this team is just physical, violent execution at the highest level. I want these guys flying around, bing physical, playing the Raven way, but then executing no matter the situation, whether it’s third down, two-minute, red zone.
Your dad also said Zach has never thought he was wrong about anything, so he’s not going to struggle believing he has the right plan.
(Laughs.) That means my plan worked. I always liked to argue. I always want to know why you think that or see how confident someone is in their belief by challenging it. And definitely with him, because I could get him going, get him riled up.
He said it’s possible to change your mind, but it’s a real achievement.
I would say I’m a strong-minded person. If I do believe in something, I believe in it. Hey, if you can change my mind, that means you showed me some evidence and some proof. If it’s the best thing, I’m willing to do it.
Mike also said he has no doubt you’ll be a head coach if that’s what you want. Do you think about that, or does that still feel like it’s on the other side of the mountain?
I still feel it’s on the other side of the mountain. I’m not saying it hasn’t crossed my mind. I’m not saying it’s not a goal of mine. But one thing that has helped me out going back to my playing days is just staying in the moment. Right now, I’m just focusing on being the best coach I can be to lead this defense to a championship. That’s down the road, God willing. But right now, I’ve got to be where my feet are.
