Most Chicago Bears fans were expecting and happy to hear that assistant general manager Ian Cunningham was hired as the Atlanta Falcons' general manager after two rounds of interviews.
Bears fans were excited because, under the Rooney Rule, Chicago should receive two compensatory third-round picks in the NFL Draft for having a minority candidate on their staff hired by another team to an upgraded role. It turns out it won't be the case for the Bears.
Many reporters, including ESPN Bears beat reporter Courtney Cronin, have pointed out that the Bears won't receive those picks because Cunningham wasn't hired as the Falcons' primary football executive. The Falcons created a new role, president of football, considered Atlanta's primary football executive position. That job was filled by former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan; Cunningham was a finalist for the role of president of football operations.
Atlanta Falcons found a way to screw the Chicago Bears in Ian Cunningham's hire
Many Bears fans were understandably upset about the news, as they felt the Falcons had somehow screwed them. This led many to question why the Bears didn't just block the interview from happening and blame general manager Ryan Poles for the mistake.
As Cronin perfectly put it in his post about the question, that's simply something Poles or any general manager should never do to a colleague, especially one who has done so much for the organization.
"You want to screw over the guy who helped you build the franchise to where it is today? I know a lot of fans view players as commodities and don't have a clue about the relationships part of this job, but that stuff is real and it matters. Reputations matter. League circles are very, very small.
Cunningham finally lands a job - on a team where Poles' college teammate and close friend Matt Ryan was just hired no less - after several GM jobs he didn't land over the years. You think Poles is going to screw him over now after all that?"
Respectfully, this is such a stupid take.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 30, 2026
Understand the back story before you declare this nonsense about Poles losing his job for "not blocking the interview."
Cunningham helped Poles through one of the more arduous rebuilds in the NFL. A team that routinely got it wrong -… https://t.co/9mWmomlM7d
Cronin credited Cunningham for helping the Bears make several good moves in his time as the assistant general manager. He helped pull off the trades of Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn, which felt wrong at first but ended up benefiting the franchise's future. Cunningham also gets credit for helping Poles hold off on trading up for Rome Odunze in 2024, as he ended up landing with them.
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Yes, the trades would have been nice, but the Bears did the right thing and helped someone get promoted when he deserved it. Bears fans should just appreciate the work Cunningham did and consider the possibilities of new trades the two sides could pull off now that they have more friends in the Falcons' building.