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There is still a lot of time in the NFL offseason, but so far, the Chicago Bears might be the biggest winners. The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus during the season, and they ended up hiring former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to replace him. Johnson was the hottest name on the coaching market this offseason, and the Bears got him. Their staff is coming along nicely, but there is a chance that Chicago loses assistant GM Ian Cunningham.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to hire a new GM after Trent Baalke was fired, and NFL insider Jordan Schulz thinks that they have a good chance of stealing Ian Cunningham from the Bears.
“The Jaguars remain the NFL’s only team without a general manager after the late and unexpected firing of Trent Baalke,” Jordan Schulz said. “With the Combine next week, Jacksonville is in an unusual spot, and league sources note that even after they hire a GM, building a full staff in time for Indianapolis will be a challenge. My sense all along has been that this is Ian Cunningham’s job to lose. The Bears assistant GM, a two-time finalist for the Titans’ role, has won Super Bowls with both Baltimore and Philadelphia. One league source described Cunningham as having ‘exactly the type of temperament and scouting background teams want these days.'”
Cunningham has reportedly done well with his virtual interviews and he has an in-person interview as well. It sounds like the Jaguars are close to getting him from the Bears and officially making him their guy.
“How does that fit with Shad Khan and a Jaguars franchise still searching for its first Super Bowl appearance?” Schulz asks. “‘I think both Tony and Shad believe he’s the guy. He interviewed well virtually, and the expectation is he’ll do the same in person on Wednesday.'”
Even if the Bears lose Cunningham to the Jaguars, they are still major winners of the offseason so far because of the Ben Johnson hire. Johnson doesn’t have any head coaching experience yet, but he was arguably the best coordinator in the league, and he should be able to unlock quarterback Caleb Williams’ full potential in a hurry.
We should learn more about Ian Cunningham and his interview with the Jaguars soon. It sounds like his time with the Bears is coming to an end, and Jacksonville should be able to put an end to their GM search.
The post NFL rumors: Insider believes Bears will lose key exec to Jaguars appeared first on ClutchPoints.
