{"id":765674,"date":"2026-02-21T00:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/765674\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T00:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:38:40","slug":"falcons-gm-ian-cunningham-sends-message-on-homecoming-after-fulfilling-career-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/765674\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons GM Ian Cunningham Sends Message on Homecoming After Fulfilling Career Goal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ian Cunningham once watched the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> as a kid in Roswell, Georgia, trying and failing to master the \u201cDirty Bird\u201d dance in his family\u2019s kitchen. Years later, after stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago, he stood at a podium as the franchise\u2019s new general manager, calling the moment \u201cpretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pretty special to come back home to a franchise or organization that I grew up watching right up the road in Roswell,\u201d Cunningham said<\/a> at his introductory news conference. \u201cAs 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<\/a>, I lived the passion of Atlanta sports fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cunningham, 40, now fulfills a goal he set as a young offensive lineman at Virginia to one day become an NFL<\/a> general manager. He arrives in Atlanta after four seasons as assistant general manager of the Chicago Bears<\/a>, where the team captured the NFC North title in 2025. Before that, he spent five years with the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>, rising to director of player personnel and contributing to a front office that reached the playoffs four times and won a Super Bowl<\/a>. He began his NFL executive career with the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> in 2008 and was part of their Super Bowl-winning organization in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"CBS<\/p>\n

CBS sports broadcaster Matt Ryan before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.<\/p>\n

New Falcons president of football Matt Ryan said Cunningham\u2019s broad experience across scouting and personnel made him the right choice. \u201cHis vision for our team and organization aligned exactly with the type of leader we were seeking,\u201d Ryan said<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s learned from some of the best in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cunningham made clear his approach will center on the draft. \u201cI love picks, man,\u201d he said. \u201cDraft, develop, retain. You use those as currency. It allows you more swings at the plate.\u201d The Falcons currently hold five picks in April\u2019s draft, though Cunningham noted that number can change. In Chicago, he helped turn five selections into 10 during his first year there.<\/p>\n

He also emphasized building from the line of scrimmage. \u201cSmart, tough, physical \u2026 we\u2019re going to build through the trenches,\u201d Cunningham said. The Falcons\u2019 defensive front produced a franchise-record 57 sacks in 2025 but ranked 23rd in defensive rush EPA, highlighting an area for improvement. Offensively, Atlanta underperformed without right tackle Kaleb McGary, who missed the season with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

Cunningham inherits a roster he believes has promise. \u201cThe cupboard isn\u2019t bare,\u201d he said, adding that he plans to \u201cenhance it\u201d so new coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff can \u201cconsistently compete for championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For a former Falcons fan with family ties to Atlanta\u2019s Olympic history, the assignment is both personal and professional. Now, Cunningham\u2019s focus turns from childhood memories to roster construction and whether his vision can return sustained contention to the city he once called home.<\/p>\n

Related: Predicting the Next Atlanta Falcons Head Coach<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ian Cunningham once watched the Atlanta Falcons as a kid in Roswell, Georgia, trying and failing to master…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,184,117,692,391,258,224,7,629,53720,11412,110,2859,6,242,109,36642],"class_list":{"0":"post-765674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-baltimore","12":"tag-baltimore-ravens","13":"tag-chicago","14":"tag-chicago-bears","15":"tag-denver-broncos","16":"tag-falcons","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-georgia","19":"tag-ian-cunningham","20":"tag-kaleb-mcgary","21":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","22":"tag-matt-ryan","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-philadelphia","25":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","26":"tag-roswell"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116105834158546287","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}