McKay hires Ruskell as Mora interviews Cunningham

<p>Head coach Jim Mora and general manager Rich McKay continued Thursday to remake the Atlanta Falcons.</p><p>Mora, hired to replace Dan Reeves last week, huddled in his office suite to discuss the defensive coordinators job with former Kansas City head coach Gunther Cunningham.</p><p>McKay, in his fourth week since leaving Tampa Bay, introduced Tim Ruskell as Atlantas new assistant GM. Ruskell spent the last 17 years with the Buccaneers and worked since 2001 as director of player personnel. He will oversee the Falcons draft. McKay has instructed Ron Hill, Atlantas vice president of football operations, to focus on free agency.</p><p>Together with the Buccaneers, McKay and Ruskell led drafts that brought Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Anthony McFarland, Mike Alstott, Ronde Barber and Warrick Dunn, who later signed with the Falcons, to Tampa Bay.</p><p>If there are 50 great evaluators in the league, I believe Tim is in the top five, McKay said. Im not sure youll find a better guy for evaluating talent and getting them lined up on the board.</p><p>Two sources with knowledge of Moras intentions said Cunningham received an offer Wednesday from New York coach Herman Edwards to replace Ted Cottrell as Jets defensive coordinator.</p><p>The sources, who requested anonymity, indicated Cunningham will accept either the New York or Atlanta job. Cunningham, 57, has worked as the Tennessee Titans linebackers coach since Kansas City fired him after the 2000 season.</p><p>If Cunningham joins the Falcons, he likely wont have many spots to fill. Defensive line coach Bill Johnson will be retained from Reeves staff, and Mora plans soon to announce that former San Francisco secondary coach Brett Maxie will work in the same capacity with Atlanta. Mora also wants Emmitt Thomas, who oversaw the secondary the last two years, to stay on board.</p><p>On Wednesday, Mora interviewed former New York Giants defensive coordinator Johnnie Lynn, 47. Tom Coughlin, hired as Giants head coach last week, replaced Lynn with former Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Tim Lewis.</p><p>In two years as head coach of the Chiefs, Cunningham went 16-16. He lost his final game, a 29-13 setback to an Atlanta team that entered 3-12, to finish 7-9 in 2000.</p><p>Ruskell interviewed with Arthur Blank about the Falcons GM vacancy in March 2002, but the Atlanta owner backed off when former Green Bay GM Ron Wolf showed interest. When Wolf withdrew his name from consideration later that month, Blank hired former Washington and San Diego general manager Bobby Beathard as senior adviser and left the GM post vacant until McKay left the Bucs.</p><p>Ruskell interviewed this month for GM vacancies in Tampa Bay and Miami. The Bucs, however, hired former Oakland senior administrator Bruce Allen, the top choice of Bucs coach Jon Gruden, and the Dolphins went with former star quarterback Dan Marino.</p><p>Ruskell originally joined the Bucs as a regional scout in 1987 before being promoted to director of college scouting in 1992.</p>

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