Zach Orr is figuring things out this offseason. The Ravens’ first-year defensive coordinator is calmer in practice after big plays, he acknowledged Thursday, because he has to be. He’s watching film because he has to be prepared. He’s imagining play-calling scenarios because he has only so much experience overseeing a defense.
As the Ravens retool their well-stocked defense in organized team activities this month, Orr might be their biggest variable. When coach John Harbaugh named him Mike Macdonald’s successor in February, he handed over play-calling duties to a 31-year-old inside linebackers coach with no play-calling record.
It was a promotion with transformative effects. Over his first few weeks of offseason practices, Orr has learned he must be more composed and less excitable.
“I’ve got to calm myself down a little bit,” he joked Thursday. “Now, after a play, I celebrate, [but] now I’ve got to get ready for the next call. I can’t celebrate too hard. Previous years, I was just waiting to hear the call. Now everyone is looking at me, like, ‘What’s the call? What’s the call?’ So I’ve got to keep it mild-toned now. I’m definitely going to express my excitement when the time is right, but I definitely have to be aware of that. Things get moving quick, and you have to be planning ahead.”
