The Seattle Seahawks' superb linebacking corps was one of the most underrated element to the team's Super Bowl LX run. The unit will now receive additional guidance in 2026, with head coach Mike Macdonald reuniting with former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr.
Orr was in the mix for multiple defensive coordinator vacancies around the league, but he will ultimately return to his roots as the Seahawks' inside linebackers coach in 2026, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
Orr, who has spent nearly his entire coaching career on John Harbaugh's staff, was hotly linked to the New York Giants' defensive coordinator position when his 63-year-old former boss became the team's new head coach in January. Harbaugh, however, showed little interest in bringing Orr to East Rutherford before hiring Dennard Wilson to fill the role.
Once he officially signs the contract, Orr will reunite with Macdonald, under whom he worked during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Orr served as the Ravens' linebackers coach during those two years under then-defensive coordinator Macdonald before being promoted to fill that role in 2024.
Like Orr, Macdonald also originated as a linebackers coach. The Super Bowl-winning head coach got his start as a linebackers coach at Cedar Shoals High School, and he held the same position with the Ravens from 2018 to 2020, two years before returning to Baltimore as Harbaugh's defensive coordinator.
The Seahawks will be just the third different team Orr will have worked for in his 10-year coaching career. The former Ravens linebacker rejoined the organization as a defensive analyst in 2017. He spent one year as the Jacksonville Jaguars' outside linebackers coach in 2021 before returning to Baltimore the following season, where he remained until signing with Seattle.
