Falcons add final piece to new
leadership team by hiring Ian Cunningham as general manager
[January 30, 2026]
By CHARLES ODUM
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons added the final piece to their
new leadership team on Thursday night by hiring Ian Cunningham as
general manager.
The decision came after president of football Matt Ryan led the
team's second interviews with Cunningham and James Liipfert.
Cunningham previously interviewed for the president of football
position before Ryan, the longtime Falcons quarterback, was hired.
Ryan then led the search for new coach Kevin Stefanski, who will
report to Ryan along with Cunningham.
“It was evident through our rigorous interview process Ian was the
right choice for our general manager position,” Ryan said in a
statement. “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.”
Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired general manager Terry Fontenot and
coach Raheem Morris after an 8-9 season. Fontenot served as GM from
2021-25.
Cunningham has served as the Chicago Bears’ assistant general
manager for the past four years. He previously spent five seasons in
various scouting and player personnel roles with the Philadelphia
Eagles.
Cunningham's family lived in Roswell near Atlanta before moving to
Carrollton, Texas, where he attended high school.
“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,”
Cunningham said.
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Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham poses for a
photo April 28, 2022, in Lake Forest, Ill. (AP Photo, File)
“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.”
Ryan said Cunningham “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.”
Cunningham's first NFL front-office role was in Baltimore, where he
was a player personnel assistant for five seasons.
The Falcons also interviewed Andy Weidl, Josh Williams, Mike Bradway
and Joe Douglas for the job. Williams was also considered for
president of football.
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