The Chicago Bears are working overtime to help assistant general manager Ian Cunningham find a new job in the league.
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On Friday, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Bears general manager Ryan Poles was working with his former Boston College teammate, Matt Ryan, to help the Atlanta Falcons during their hiring process. Cunningham is a candidate for the general manager gig with the Falcons.
On Saturday, the Falcons hired Ryan as their new president of football.
Per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Ryan will be considered the primary football executive for the Falcons. Atlanta’s next general manager will have control of the draft and the roster, though Ryan will get the final say over decisions.
Essentially, the Falcons’ new general manager position is the equivalent of a typical assistant general manager, meaning it would be a lateral move for Cunningham to take the job with Atlanta.
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Because it would be a lateral move for Cunningham, the Bears are not expected to gain two third-round compensatory picks if Atlanta hires him.
Why would the Bears help to try and offload Cunningham, someone who is considered a rising star in the league, to the Falcons knowing they would receive nothing in return for the assistant general manager?
A source indicated to ChiCitySports that head coach Ben Johnson wouldn’t be unhappy if Cunningham took the Falcons’ job.
In September, Tyler Dunne of Go Long wrote about some of the dynamics between Poles and Cunningham in the front office. A source suggested Cunningham was well suited to cover for Poles’ deficiencies and was thought to be a better voice in the front office than the general manager.
Cunningham would “challenge” scouts and Poles during his early time in Chicago, but his “voice” had faded in 2025.
But maybe not enough to everyone’s liking at Halas Hall.
The role in Atlanta might be better for Cunningham. Ryan, who didn’t become the president of football with a scouting background, needs a general manager who can help evaluate talent. Cunningham has been noted by Jones and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer as a top future general manager candidate.
Football insider and former NFL agent Ben Dogra explained to ChiCitySports why the league wouldn’t give the Bears compensatory picks if Cunningham took the Falcons general manager job.
“He’s really not acting in a GM capacity,” Dogra said of what Cunningham’s role would be with the Falcons. “That belongs to Matt Ryan, because he has final say in football matters. So if that’s the case, the league probably frowns upon the fact ‘We don’t want to guy have a GM title, but he doesn’t have the authority of a GM over the 53-man roster.'”
“So if that’s the case, the league doesn’t want to provide compensatory picks for something that they deem to be less than a GM with the full power.”
But right now, the Falcons are the only team with a general manager job open for Cunningham, and it’s a step up from his role in Chicago and will likely come with a fair pay raise.
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