Ryan Poles took care of his right-hand man but might have just screwed the Bears over in the process
Ian Cunningham landed his deserved general manager position, but there seems to be a caveat for Chicago.
It’s an exciting night for Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, who officially landed the position as the next general manager of the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s a long-awaited promotion for the young executive after being a hot candidate in each of the previous two hiring cycles. The Falcons land an exceptional mind to round out the revamped leadership team leading the organization into the future.
It’s no secret that Bears general manager Ryan Poles played a role in this decision, as Poles was college teammates and close with Falcons president of football and former franchise quarterback Matt Ryan. But, there’s a slight caveat to this decision that impacts the Bears in a major way.
Bears not expected to receive compensatory draft picks for losing Ian Cunningham
According to multiple insiders and reporters, the Bears are not expected to receive compensatory draft picks for losing Ian Cunningham. Per league rules, teams are eligible to receive two compensatory draft picks (third-round selection in each of the next two drafts) for developing a minority executive who was hired away as a primary football executive, but in this case, many around the league believe that Ryan, not Cunningham, is the primary football executive in Atlanta.
“It is due to this structure that the Bears will not receive compensatory picks for losing Cunningham, a Black man,” CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones wrote. “Beginning in 2021, the league began awarding two third-round picks to teams who developed minority talent that ultimately took head coach or GM roles. But multiple sources have confirmed to CBS Sports that the Bears will not get those picks, and the team has known that for some amount of time.”
This situation put Poles in a tough position as the Bears had the option to block the hire, even if the role is considered a promotion for Cunningham, title-wise. But, that would mean holding a much deserved opportunity from one of Poles’ closest friends.
When the Falcons announced Ryan as the team’s newly-created president of football, a position Cunningham also interviewed for, Ryan and owner Arthur Blank made it crystal clear that the general manager position in Atlanta would be the same role as the general manager with other organizations.
It’s a very grey area and sets a tough precedent as it relates to the Rooney Rule and future general manager hires. The Bears could, and should, try to appeal this and use the Falcons description of the role as an agrument to get the comp picks, but it’s not looking like the league will make any change, unfortunately.
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