Russell "Rusty" McKinney begins his first season at Davenport University after a long and successful coaching career already under his belt. McKinney has 15 years of college and professional experience he brings as the defensive line coach for the Panthers. He most recently served as a defensive assistant for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL from 2019-2022. He was responsible for everything from opponent film breakdown to scouting report preparation and distribution. During gameday, he would communicate any run game errors/adjustments and third down protections.
McKinney was a member of the coaching staff with the Miami Dolphins from 2016-18 as a defensive quality control coach. He worked with the linebackers, defensive line and defensive backs at different times during his tenure. McKinney also worked with the Cleveland Browns from 2014-15 as a coaching intern. He did a variety of jobs for the organization including office work and practice execution.
Rusty started off his career in the collegiate ranks at Saint Anselm College (2008) and Bentley University (2009-13). He was the defensive coordinator at Bentley his final year and also served as the special teams and strength & conditioning coordinator, at one time. He was a four-time letterman at linebacker for Towson University from 1998-2001 and served as the co-captain and named team's MVP in 2001. He was also named All-Patriot League in 2000 and 2001. He graduated with his bachelor's degree from Towson in business administration in 2002 and later earned his associate of applied science in the culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in 2004.
