It always felt like a matter of time before Ian Cunningham got a general manager job with another team. He’s come close multiple times since joining the Chicago Bears as their assistant GM. He declined the Arizona Cardinals job last year and was a finalist for the Tennessee job last month. He didn’t get it, leading most to believe he’d be back in Chicago for another season. That took a turn when the Jacksonville Jaguars unexpectedly fired GM Trent Baalke. Almost immediately, local insiders listed Cunningham as the name to watch for that job.
Since then, the Jaguars have gone through an extensive interview process, reaching the second round of interviews. Cunningham is one of the five finalists. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, one of the top national insiders in the league, the buzz is real. Presuming things go well in the interview process, the job is his if he wants it. The only thing to do is say yes.
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.”
Ian Cunningham leaving would set off a chain of events.
First, it would secure the Bears two compensatory draft picks as he would qualify as a minority candidate who has been with his current team for at least two years. Chicago would receive a 3rd rounder this year and another in 2026. The next step would be finding a replacement. Most believe Ryan Poles would promote senior director of player personnel Jeff King as the new assistant GM. He’s been a key figure in the front office over the past couple of years and was part of the coaching search committee. The only question after that will be whether Ian Cunningham looks to bring somebody from the Bears front office with him. Poles did it after leaving Kansas City with Trey Koziol. That could lead to a shakeup of the hierarchy, perhaps with some new blood being brought in.
