John Harbaugh's viral commencement address draws on experience being fired by Ravens

Spend enough time in the coaching profession and chances are you'll be someplace where they decide to "take things in a new direction," or "hit the restart button," or any other variation of the words that mean when put together mean you're being let go.

John Harbaugh was no exception to that. Despite rising to the head coaching role with the Ravnes after a career running special teams for a number of teams, the organization opted for a fresh start despite 18 seasons, a Super Bowl title (XLVII in 2012) and a win percentage of over 61% (180-113).

A hot candidate in last year's coaching cycle, Harbaugh wasn't on the hunt for long and ended up taking the head coaching job with the New York Giants where he will have some young talent to build around.

Over the weekend, Harbaugh was the commencement speaker at his alma mater, Miami of Ohio. Affectionately referred to as The Cradle of Coaches for churning out football leaders that include Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, and Sean McVay in addition to John Harbaugh, Harbaugh returned to where he played defensive back in the early 80's and earned a degree in political science and delivered a message to graduates that has gone viral over the last several days.

In his 16-minute talk, John covered a variety of topics, but found a way to lightheartedly bring up his exit in Baltimore to share some important perspective on life and the adversity it will throw at you.

"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. That it's time to move on."

"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."

Harbaugh's overriding message through the rest of his speech centered on the "amazing power of caring and encouragement" and how everyone can make a positive impact by doing something as simple as looking someone in the eye and pointing out something that makes them special or unique, a practice he says he tries to do regularly. He encouraged grads in attendance to try and do the same.

Hear an excerpt from his advice to graduates in the clip.

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