Ravens pass rush coach Chuck Smith shared that it was Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr was the one to turn the Ravens’ defense around in 2024.
Five weeks into the season, the Baltimore Ravens sat with a 3-2 record. They’d lost by a toe against the Kansas City Chiefs in the opener, 20-27, but followed up with a disappointing loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, 23-26. Only their win over the Buffalo Bills, 35-10, was a true defensive showing. They’d allowed 25.2 points per game, and 280.2 passing yards per game.
Three days after their overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals, 41-38, the Ravens announced they were hiring former defensive coordinator Dean Pees as a Senior Advisor.
The defense continued their struggles until Week 11, when significant changes were made, benching safety Marcus Williams in favor of Ar’Darius Washington and new alignments for safety Kyle Hamilton in a more traditional free safety role.
From Week 11 on, the Ravens’ defense became the best in the NFL. Allowed the fewest yards, points, yards-per-play, opponent quarterback rating, passing touchdowns and best third-down percentage.
Speculation emerged on who made the changes. Was it Pees? Was it more/less decisions from Orr? What was the catalyst? On Wednesday, Pass Rush Coach Chuck Smith set the record straight, crediting Orr.
“I know last year a lot of people in the media were saying, ‘Well, this guy came in and helped.’ No, Zach Orr did it,” Smith said. “Zach Orr, in those rooms, with the coaches, he led, he made the changes in support with [head] coach [John] Harbaugh and the guys on that staff. But, Zach Orr truly led the charge. I’m a witness to it, and I’ve been wanting to say this, because the dude is the truth.”
The decision to change the secondary and put Washington on the field and the Ravens’ blue-chip free agent of 2022 on the bench? Orr did it.
“I wanted to set the record straight because I’m a part of it, and I have no reason to come up here and ‘B.S.’ you all, because you know how I roll,” Smith said. “But, Zach Orr was the one who changed what we did last year, and give John Harbaugh a lot of credit. He was in there with us, too. But, I’ve got to give Zach most of the credit for the adjustments that happened in that secondary, and also [in] helping us coaches. He’s like the ‘youngest in charge,’ that’s what I call him. He’s a special coach, and I’m really blessed to be around a guy like that.”