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Head coach John Harbaugh reacts prior to a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

The Baltimore Ravens are in the midst of the first offseason of the new Jess Minter era. Minter is making his own mark on the Ravens, but for both sides, the memory of John Harbaugh and his time with the Ravens will linger.

Harbaugh was the Ravens’ head coach for nearly two decades and oversaw the most successful era of Ravens football, leading to six AFC North titles and a Super Bowl XLVII victory.

Harbaugh and the Ravens will be linked forever, so it should come as no surprise that even as the head coach of the New York Giants, Harbaugh will still make references to the Ravens.

Commencement Speech

Giants head coach John Harbaugh returned to his alma mater, Miami University, to deliver a commencement speech. Harbaugh played safety there from 1980-1983, and was teammates and roommates with pro wrestler Brian Pillman, who briefly played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

ESPN’s Jordan Raan covered Harbaugh’s commencement address at Miami University, and in it, among other points about resilience and perseverance, Harbaugh referenced his Ravens firing.

“There’s going to be tough times. They’re going to show up, too. You might get a call with some bad news. Maybe about your job. Maybe they’ll tell you they don’t want you anymore. Time to move on,” he said with a chuckle. “It happens. In those moments, I hope you’ll find resilience. And you’ll be able to rejoice in all the good you’ll still have. And all the people who still care for you. That you’ll come to understand that there is a great opportunity on the next horizon of your life. And you can still walk together into every uncertain future with the people you love.”

Despite only being in New York for a few months, Harbaugh is already endearing himself to Giants fans with his confidence and bold messaging.

Harbaugh’s Bold Claim

The Giants over the past decade have been one of the worst teams in the NFL. John Harbaugh hopes to be the guy who finally turns around the fortunes of a downtrodden fan base. 

Harbaugh’s first step is instilling confidence in the team that this year is different, and one of Harbaugh’s first targets to back up that claim is the Dallas Cowboys. 

Darryl Slater of NJ.com, in his May 19 article, wrote about Harbaugh and his bold claim about the Cowboys at a fan town hall event in Manhattan.

“I’m going to be nice and politically correct,” Harbaugh said. “I could care less about what happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that. Honestly, I don’t give a crap about any of it. Not one bit.”

“All I care about is tomorrow’s practice, Harbaugh continued. “Because if tomorrow’s practice is the way it’s supposed to be, that’ll be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys’ ass.”

This drew raucous cheers from the Giants fans in attendance, and Harbaugh will have the opportunity to back his words in Week 1.

Harbaugh and the Ravens may be separated, but they will always have a place in each other’s stories.