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.
“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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AP Sports Writer Maura Carey in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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