Ian Cunningham’s new job creates frustration among Bears fans for wrong reasons

Ian Cunningham was officially announced as the Atlanta Falcons general manager.

The former Bears’ assistant general manager and right-hand man to GM Ryan Poles finally landed one of the 32 positions in the NFL after years of interviewing for the job. 

It’s a huge step forward in Cunningham’s career, but his promotion has received plenty of backlash on social media from Bears fans. 

The Bears will not receive two compensatory third-round picks even though Cunningham, a minority front office personnel member, was elevated to a GM position. Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is the team’s president of football and serves as Atlanta’s primary football executive, meaning the Bears will not get draft compensation.

How should Bears fans really feel about Ian Cunningham's promotion?

I understand why Bears fans are upset about not getting draft picks. Missing opportunities to build the roster with promising talent is a loss. So, I get that part of the equation. 

However, some people on social media are upset that Poles didn’t block the interview, and because social media is where you find plenty of common sense, they want the Bears’ GM fired for that mistake. 

Obviously, some individuals don’t understand how staff building and relationships work, not just in the NFL, but in life. 

Here’s a scenario for you. Imagine you were in a position to get promoted from your job. You have a great boss at your current establishment and have been working alongside each other for the past four years. 

When the opportunity for an interview comes up, that same boss, someone you viewed as a friend, who you worked countless hours with building up the company you worked for, blocks the interview.

That’s essentially what some Bears fans wanted Poles to do to Cunningham for the Falcons’ vacant GM position. 

How does that make any sense? And how would that type of behavior look to everyone else within the Chicago Bears organization who has aspirations to move up in the hierarchy of NFL positions?

Or what about the future candidates that will have to fill vacant roles on the Bears’ staff? If the GM is blocking interviews because of draft capital, then that could prevent a bright football mind from entering Halas Hall in the first place. 

Coach Ben Johnson said in his end-of-season news conference that he is “all for it” when it comes to his coaching staff getting interview requests from other teams. Of course, he would love to retain his five-star staff, as he said, but that’s the nature of the business. 

According to CBS Sports NFL reporter Jonathan Jones, the Bears knew “for some amount of time” that they wouldn’t receive two third-round compensatory picks if Cunningham took the job in Atlanta. 

And the Bears didn’t block the interview, which was the right thing to do.

Many fans were also wondering why Cunningham would take a job if he is not the primary football decision-maker. His statement gives some great insight. 

"As a Falcons fan growing up in Roswell [Georgia] when the Dirty Birds were rolling, the Braves were on fire and the city was hosting the Summer Olympics, I lived the passion of Atlanta sports fans and I can't wait to be part of bringing that fire and energy back to the city," Cunningham said in the release. "It's been incredible to build a relationship with Matt over the last several weeks and to have an immediate connection with Kevin (Stefanski). I can't wait to work with both of these great football minds to put a team on the field everyone will be very excited about. We all share the same vision for what the Atlanta Falcons should and will be and it's time to work."

Outside of growing up as a Falcons fan, the pay raise will also help. More importantly, though, Cunningham is continuing to work his way up the NFL ladder, which began in 2008 when he joined the Baltimore Ravens as a personnel assistant and was later promoted to area scout in 2013. 

He then joined the Philadelphia Eagles' staff, rising from director of college scouting in 2017 to director of player personnel in 2021. And then Cunningham joined the Chicago Bears as the assistant general manager for the past four seasons.

Read more: Ryan Poles' move to acquire All-Pro star looks even better now for Bears

Cunningham is going to play a vital role in helping Ryan and Stefanski continue to build up the Falcons’ roster. Much like he did with the Bears, to help the team get to where it is today.