Opinion: Initially strange that Falcons name Ian Cunningham general manager after hiring head coach

Ian Cunningham (YouTube)

According to The Canadian Press on Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons have named Ian Cunningham of Carrollton, Texas as their new general manager. At first glance it was a little puzzling why the Falcons would name their new general manager after naming Kevin Stefanski of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as their new head coach. The reason is that it is normally the general manager’s choice who will be the head coach.

However things are a little bit different for the Falcons at this time. That is because it appears Cunningham may not make the final decisions for the Falcons organization when it comes to player personnel. That responsibility appears to be that of Matt Ryan, who was named the Falcons President of Football on January 10. Ryan, who was the longtime quarterback for the Falcons, and got Atlanta to a Super Bowl, has been a studio analyst for CBS over the last three years since retiring from the NFL in 2023.

Cunningham has been working in the National Football League since 2008. He initially was with the Baltimore Ravens as a personnel assistant (2008 to 2012), and area scout (2013 to 2016). Cunningham was then with the Philadelphia Eagles for five years from 2017 to 2021. He was initially the Eagles director of college scouting (2017 and 2018), assistant director of player personnel (2019 and 2020), and then the Eagles director of player personnel (2021). Over the last four seasons from 2022 to 2025, Cunningham has been the assistant general manager of the Chicago Bears.

That is where things get a little bit interesting. Even though Cunningham is now a general manager and not an assistant general manager, because he is not the highest person in command in Atlanta when it comes to making football decisions, the Falcons do not need to give the Bears compensatory draft picks for Cunningham’s services.

The Falcons are getting a “general manager” who has won two Super Bowls. He was with the Ravens in 2013 and Eagles in 2018.