Now that Matt Ryan has been officially hired as the Atlanta Falcons' first president of football, all eyes now shift toward the crucial decision that follows. Ryan will now be tasked with helping the franchise find a new head coach and general manager, which will help usher in a new era of Falcons' football.
While the head coaching search is just getting started, the GM search comes with some more clarity. The Falcons interviewed some of their general manager candidates for the president of football job, but Bears' assistant GM Ian Cunningham has emerged as the overwhelming favorite for the position.
With the Atlanta Falcons hiring Matt Ryan as President of Football Operations, Chicago Bears Asst. GM Ian Cunningham is now considered the overwhelming favorite to become the Falcons new GM.
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) January 10, 2026
Now that the Dolphins hired Green Bay Packers' executive Jon-Eric Sullivan to be their new general manager, Atlanta's GM opening is currently the only vacancy in the NFL, which means they can take their time before settling on the GM they want spearheading the first half of the Falcons' new regime.
However, if they are as enamored with Cunningham as we have been led to believe, they may not need to waste much more time.
It's only a matter of time before Falcons make Ian Cunningham their next general manager
At this point, we are all aware of Matt Ryan's connection to Cunningham because it feels impossible to ignore. For those who don't know, Matty Ice and Chicago Bears' GM Ryan Poles are close friends and were teammates at Boston College, as Poles has been helping him through the hiring process.
That leaves Cunningham, Poles' right-hand man, as the obvious benefactor of their friendship. Don't get it twisted though, the rising young executive is one of the most sought-after GM candidates in the NFL, so this isn't an instance of their friendship providing him with an opportunity he doesn't deserve.
Cunningham has been a key executive under Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, Howie Roseman in Philadelphia, and now Poles in Chicago, where he helped mastermind a turnaround that saw the Bears win a stout NFC North for the first time since 2018 and finish as the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Before landing in Chicago, he was also a director of college scouting and director of player personnel with the Eagles and a scout with the Ravens, so his background in player evaluation with multiple elite organizations is promising after Terry Fontenot's scouting background took years to translate.
Honestly, Poles wouldn't have told his buddy to consider his right-hand man if he didn't believe he was a good executive capable of running a front office, even if he was worried about losing him after a strong season. For that reason, Cunningham to Atlanta feels inevitable once the Bears are eliminated.