Orr’s playing career was cut short by a congenital neck condition that forced him to retire at just 24 years old after three seasons and an All-Pro. Now 32, he’s the second-youngest defensive coordinator in the NFL.
He’s replacing Mike Macdonald, who was previously the league’s youngest D-coordinator, but left to become the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach after helping make Baltimore’s defense one of the best in the league again last year.
Orr hasn’t changed much about the Ravens’ scheme. After all, it wasn’t Macdonald’s scheme; it was built over multiple years in Baltimore and is now spreading throughout the rest of the NFL. Orr also hasn’t changed anything about who he is, and that fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by his players.
“When a guy stands 10 toes on what he believes in, who he is as a person, you always have to respect that,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “He’s still himself, same energetic guy; it’s just, he has a different title by his name, and he carries that very well.”
What is new for Orr is calling plays, something he has never done in a regular-season game in his coaching career. Orr gained experience in Ravens practices and the preseason, which went smooth. But he said he knows it’s going to be different in a regular-season game because of all the different personnel groups that will come their way and it’s more gameplan specific, not to mention the deafening noise expected in Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night.
Against Mahomes and Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid specifically, Orr knows they’ve seen it all from opponents trying anything to stop them. So, the key, he said, is your counter punch.
“You have to be ready for the next thing that’s coming, because they’re thinking a step ahead, so you have to think that way, too,” Orr said.
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