As Bears general manager Ryan Poles tries to complete his rebuild, he might be searching for a new righthand man. It looks like assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is once again a popular candidate for NFL teams.
Shortly after the Commanders cleaned house, they requested permission to interview Cunningham to be their head of football operations, NFL Network reported.
Cunningham, 38, has long been a rising star and came up in highly respected personnel departments with the Ravens and Eagles. He was the Eagles’ director of player personnel when Poles hired him in 2022.
Cunningham interviewed for general manager jobs with the Cardinals and Titans last season. The Cardinals offered him the position, but he turned it to down.
The Commanders need a new coach as well after firing Ron Rivera on Monday and could be rebooting with a new quarterback as they hold the No. 2 pick in the draft. They also have new ownership, which could make it an enticing opportunity for Cunningham.
Poles has relied on Cunningham throughout the last two years, and Cunningham occasionally runs personnel meetings if Poles is needed elsewhere. They even rented an apartment together when they began with the Bears.
The upside for the Bears is that if Cunningham leaves, they’ll receive two compensatory third-round picks because of a relatively recent NFL policy instituted to encourage teams to develop minority executives. Any team that has a minority employee hired away as a head coach or general manager receives an extra third-rounder in each of the next two drafts.
As more teams move through their process, Cunningham likely will draw more interest. The Panthers, Chargers and Raiders all have general manager openings.
