{"id":718809,"date":"2026-01-31T10:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/718809\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:06:34","slug":"ian-cunningham-comments-on-landing-gm-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/718809\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Cunningham comments on landing GM job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jan. 30, 2026, 5:30 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> have hired Ian Cunningham as their general manager, the team officially announced on Thursday evening. Cunningham, the former assistant general manager of the Chicago Bears<\/a>, has been a finalist for other GM jobs and will now finally get his chance to lead an NFL front office.<\/p>\n

A native of Roswell, Georgia, Cunningham spent the last two decades working for the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> (2008-2016), Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> (2017-2021) and the Bears (2022-2025) in various roles. The Falcons’ new general manager released a statement after being hired on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Falcons GM Ian Cunningham on coming to Atlanta:<\/p>\n

“It’s truly an honor to be the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons and I couldn’t be more thankful to Arthur Blank, Matt Ryan, Greg Beadles, Josh Blank and the entire search committee for believing in me,” said Cunningham. “As a Falcons fan growing up in Roswell 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. It’s been incredible to build a relationship with Matt over the last several weeks and to have an immediate connection with Kevin. 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.”<\/p>\n

Falcons president of football Matt Ryan led the search to hire Cunningham and put out a statement of his own after Cunningham was hired on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a>Matt Ryan comments on new GM Ian Cunningham:<\/p>\n

“It was evident through our rigorous interview process Ian was the right choice for our general manager position,” wrote Ryan. “His vision for our team and organization aligned exactly with the type of leader we were seeking to help take the Falcons to the next level. Throughout Ian’s career, including Super Bowl championships in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Ian has demonstrated the drive and focus it takes to build championship contenders and put them in the position to win games. We love his broad and deep experience across every aspect of talent evaluation and know he’s learned from some of the best in the league. Pairing him with Coach Stefanski is exciting for us, and we can’t wait to see them bring our shared vision to life in everything we do starting right now.”<\/p>\n

Cunningham will be introduced alongside Ryan on Tuesday. The Falcons can then turn their attention to NFL free agency, but they will likely first release veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n

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