 Ruskell has previously worked for the NFL, including positions as the team president and director of player personnel for the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, and Tennessee Titans.Ruskell was born in Yokohama, Japan where his father was stationed in the United States Army, but spent his high school and college years in the Tampa Bay, Florida area and graduated with a degree in communications from the University of South Florida in 1978.He began his professional football career as a scout for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1983, moving to the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in 1985 before first working in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987.