The Chicago Bears lost a pivotal figure this offseason in the franchise’s rebuild.

Assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham left to become the next General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons. He interviewed with the organization twice, once for the President of Football and then for the GM opening.

Advertisement

Under the NFL’s Rooney Rule, the Bears should’ve gotten draft compensation for 2026 and 2027. However, because the Falcons’ situation differs from most teams’, the Bears weren’t able to secure any draft compensation.

Typically, the GM is a franchise’s primary football executive. With the Falcons, that wasn’t the case. Since former quarterback Matt Ryan is the President of Football, the NFL sees him as the primary football executive in Atlanta.

Ryan even proved the NFL made the wrong decision after revealing that Cunningham would handle the 2026 NFL Draft and free agency for the Falcons.

Cunningham came to the Bears when current GM Ryan Poles did in 2022. He played a big role in the franchise’s turnaround.

Advertisement

Now, the organization will have a new right-hand man to Poles. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed that the Bears are making an internal hire, promoting Jeff King.

King started with Chicago’s personnel department when he was brought on under former GM Ryan Pace in 2016. Pace was with the Bears as GM from 2015-2021. He went through two head coaches during his tenure in Chicago.

Pace was recently fired as the Falcons’ Vice President of Football Operations and Player Personnel.

King played tight end in the NFL from 2006-2012. The Carolina Panthers initially drafted him in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

Advertisement

He spent the majority of his NFL career in Carolina before joining the Arizona Cardinals in 2011. He played one more season in the league before retiring in 2012. He finished his NFL career with 1,323 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

King is the second former Virginia Tech player who will start a new position with the franchise in 2026. The Bears recently announced the hiring of several assistants, including offensive coordinator Press Taylor, running backs coach Eric Studesville, offensive analyst Will Lawing, and offensive quality control coach Isaiah Ford.

Ford played receiver for the Bears in 2023 and was a Virginia Tech product as well.

It will be hard to fill Cunningham’s shoes in Chicago, but keeping him around was always going to be tough given the Bears’ success.