The Ravens hired Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as their new head coach on Thursday.
So, naturally, the Chargers put in a request to interview Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr as Minter’s
potential replacement in Los Angeles, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ravens fans have mocked other teams’ interest in Orr given his struggles over the past two years. He does not have the pedigree (or results) of Minter or Mike Macdonald, but he still comes from what is becoming the most popular defensive coaching tree in the league.
So Orr may not be an elite defensive coordinator right now, dismissing him entirely is, well, exactly what the NFL did when he was coming out of North Texas in 2014. The Ravens signed him as an undrafted free agent and he grew into an All-Pro in his third season.
Does that guarantee that Orr will make a third-year leap as a coordinator? Certainly not. A team that is looking to quickly retool and compete for a Super Bowl, like the Chargers, may not want to worry about Orr learning on the job as he did in Baltimore. He might even be best served staying with the Ravens to learn under Minter, especially in terms of play-calling.
The Chargers’ potential to hire Orr continues a growing (and amusing) pattern of the two teams – dubbed Ravens and Ravens West – exchanging coaches and players.
Mike Macdonald did not target a ton of former Ravens during his first two offseasons in Seattle, but it took John Harbaugh less than 24 hours to start going after his former staff. The Giants will probably target some of his former players in free agency, too.
