Windy City Gridiron
Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham has been up for a general manager job a few times the last couple of years, but this offseason feels like it’ll finally happen for him.
There may only be a few general manager jobs open, but Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer lists Cunningham first on his annual Future GMs List, for front office personnel who could be in line to be a first-time GM.
Here’s what Breer wrote about Cunningham in his “On the doorstep” category.
Cunningham’s pedigree, having worked under Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore then Howie Roseman in Philly, is tough to match and he’s been on the precipice of landing a GM role the last couple offseasons. Though his background is as a college scout, he’s basically worked in every facet of personnel in Chicago, overseeing the Bears’ sports performance, I.T., analytics and player engagement departments under the football operations umbrella, while also leading draft and free agent meetings. And now that the Bears are winning, and he’s shown an ability to adjust to a new coaching staff, he should be in demand.
The key for him this offseason is Chicago’s 11-5 record. Even with how respected Cunningham is around the league, it would have been tough to justify adding him with the Bears coming off a losing season, but this time, Ryan Poles’ top lieutenant will be in high demand and ready for the challenge of running his own show.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also tabs Cunningham as a name who comes up “fairly often” when digging about candidates for this general manager cycle.
If Cunningham were to leave to become a GM for another franchise, the Bears would receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years due to the Rooney Rule, which “encourages hiring best practices to foster and provide opportunity to diverse leadership throughout the NFL.”
Cunningham has been a finalist before, and with four years of experience as Poles’ assistant general manager, he’s ready.
The Bears already have an obvious in-house replacement for him with Senior Director of Player Personnel Jeff King, who Breer also lists as a future GM in his “Closing in” category.
King got into scouting in his mid-30s, so he had a bit of a late start after a nine-year career as an NFL tight end. His background is in pro scouting, but he’s diversified since Ryan Poles came aboard in 2022, and he’s earned the respect of the coaches he works with—Ben Johnson included—with the vision for a team to pursue players that fit.
King started as a scouting intern in 2015 for Ryan Pace and moved up the ranks to director of pro scouting in Pace’s final season. When Poles took over in 2022, he named King the co-director of player personnel, a role he held until he was promoted to his current role in 2024.
