Falcons' GM search quietly unearthed a trend that's become impossible to ignore

Now that they no longer have to worry about finding a new head coach, the Atlanta Falcons are finally putting stock in the general manager search. Matt Ryan has yet to conduct a single GM interview, but now that Kevin Stefanski's been hired, that search is expected to ramp up across the next few days.

The Falcons' GM process was expected to be a two-man race, but this no longer seems to be the case. In addition to the expected interviews with Ian Cunningham and Josh Williams, they also requested to interview Steelers' assistant GM Andy Weidl and Texans' assistant GM James Liipfert.

The GM race being wide open is one thing, but it's seen an interesting trend come to light. All four known candidates have a background in scouting or player evaluation, which doesn't feel like an accident given how much the Falcons struggled to draft high-quality talent under Terry Fontenot.

The Falcons are only looking at GM candidates with a background in scouting

Cunningham was a scout in Baltimore and the director of college scouting (and later player personnel) in Philadelphia before becoming Ryan Poles' right-hand man in Chicago. Before Poles, he worked under both Ozzie Newsome and Howie Roseman, so he's evaluated talent for elite executives.

Williams is the director of scouting and football operations of the 49ers and has spent a decade as a scout for the Niners. The 49ers haven't always been stellar in the draft department, but with that type of background in player evaluation, it proves why he's been a coveted GM candidate in the past.

Williams and Cunningham were two of the lead candidates for the president of football position and are seemingly Ryan's top two candidates. However, now that they hired Stefanski, they're broadening the search to include other people, who are presumably among his top general manager candidates.

The Dirty Birds also requested to interview Weidl and Liipfert, but they also requested to speak with Chiefs' assistant GM Mike Bradaway just a few hours later. As the only GM opening, the Falcons are going to take their time, but they're still hoping to have every candidate in the building this week.

Of all the names the Falcons have requested to speak to, Weidl is arguably the most interesting. He is the second in command to Omar Khan in Pittsburgh, but he assembles the Steelers' draft board, and like Cunningham, has a background working in the scouting department for Roseman and Newsome.

Liipfert serves as the assistant general manager and director of college scouting with the Houston Texans, where most of their defensive talent was home-grown. Liipfert was also a college star at Georgia Tech, but spent time in the scouting department in both New England and Houston over time.

As for Bradway, he's in his first season as assistant GM with the Chiefs now that Mike Borgonzi is in Tennessee. He was previously the senior director of player personnel, but also comes from a scouting background, as he was the assistant director of college scouting when he left the Eagles.

Not only are they considering five candidates who are supposedly strong talent evaluators for their GM opening, they're also looking at people with ties to strong organizations. So even though Cunningham is believed to be the frontrunner, this could get wide open real quick.