Seahawks’ new president will likely be Ruskell

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks’ front office shuffle continued Tuesday, when general manager Bob Ferguson resigned and the team took another step toward naming a new president.

Tim Ruskell, who served as assistant general manager with the Atlanta Falcons last year, is expected to be named team president today at 11 a.m. One of his first tasks will be to replace Ferguson, who stepped down amid a whirlwind of front-office turnover.

Ruskell, 49, was the Falcons’ assistant general manager for more than a year. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years in scouting. He served as director of player personnel for the Tampa Buccaneers from 2001 to 2003, helping to build a team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.

Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke would not confirm the hiring Tuesday, saying: “There’s a lot of speculation, and we’ll save that all for another day. Maybe even tomorrow.”

The Seahawks have searched for a team president since Jan. 14, when Bob Whitsitt was fired.

Since that date, the Seahawks have lost three other high-ranking front office officials: vice president of player personnel Ted Thompson (now the Green Bay Packers’ general manager), director of college scouting Scot McCloughan (now the San Francisco 49ers’ general manager) and Ferguson.

Ferguson was the Seahawks’ general manager for two years, originally taking over when coach Mike Holmgren was relieved of his GM duties.

“As the Seahawks transition to new football leadership, I have decided it is also the right time for me to leave the organization,” Ferguson said. “I have agreed to consult with the Seahawks through the draft and will support (director of pro personnel) Will Lewis and his team in ensuring we finish off this process by finding the Seahawks the best possible players.”

The top candidate to replace Ferguson could be Mike Reinfeldt, who re-joined the team as consultant on Feb. 3. Reinfeldt had been a senior vice president for the organization from 1999 through January 2004 before he was fired by Whitsitt.

The Seahawks are also looking to replace Thompson and McCloughan. The whole process will start when a president is named.

Ruskell is well-regarded around the league after helping draft the core of Tampa Bay’s legendary defense. While Ruskell served as director of college scouting from 1992 through 2000, the Buccaneers added Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber.

Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay, in a statement within the 2004 Falcons media guide, said of Ruskell: “If there are 50 great evaluators of talent in the NFL, I believe Tim is in the top five.”

Ruskell interviewed to be the Miami Dolphins’ general manager in 2003. A year later, he joined the Falcons as an assistant to McKay.