The Seattle Seahawks are pretty, pretty good, aren't they? Super Bowl champions in only head coach Mike Macdonald's second season. That's good stuff. But why stop there? Why not add even more talent to the roster and more talent to the coaching staff?
The latter happened on Friday. NFL insider Clarence Hill reported that Zachary Orr will be the new inside linebackers coach. He will replace Kurt Olivadotti in the role. No mention has been made yet of what Olivadotti will be moving to, but whatever it is, it will likely be a good thing.
That is what happens with the spoils of victory. Coaches move on or change, and the head coach and general manager need to replace them or rearrange them. Orr's coming to Seattle was one of the easier moves.
Seattle Seahawks hire Zachary Orr to be Mike Macdonald's inside linebackers coach
He has spent the last two seasons as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator, and he didn't do a bad job, but after head coach John Harbaugh was fired and Jesse Minter hired, the coaches in the Harbaugh regime needed to find new gigs. Now, Orr is back coaching under Macdonald.
When Macdonald was the Ravens' DC in 2022 and 2023, Orr was his inside linebackers coach. Orr oversaw the growth of players like Patrick Queen. The Seahawks' newest coach obviously understands Macdonald's system and understands how to make it work at peak efficiency, as Macdonald had, unsurprisingly, one of the best defenses in the NFL in his two years in Baltimore.
The Seattle Seahawks, of course, have no worries at inside linebacker currently. Ernest Jones holds down one of the spots, and he was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2025. The spot beside him was a bit of a rotating cast, but Drake Thomas played the most snaps at the end of the season. Thomas was one of the breakout stars of the season for Seattle.
The assumption is that the Seattle Seahawks' defense will once again be elite next season. As long as Mike Macdonald remains as the head coach, that should be assumed. But while the team might potentially lose defensive talent like Riq Woolen or Coby Bryant, the scheme will remain the same. Zachary Orr understands that, and he will get the best out of his position group.