Tag: Ian Cunningham

Titans narrow general manager search to 6 candidates

The Tennessee Titans announced on Monday that they have narrowed their general manager search down to six candidates.

The Tennessee Titans’ search for their next general manager took another step forward on Monday. 

One week after relieving general manager Ran Carthon of his duties, the Titans have completed 10 virtual interviews with different candidates. They have now narrowed their search down to six final candidates. 

Their search, headed by president of football operations Chad Brinker, is now in the process of arranging the next round of talks with Terrance Gray, Ian Cunningham, John Spytek, Mike Borgonzi, Ed Dodds and Jon-Eric Sullivan. 

The Titans have moved quickly to get to this point in the process and are starting the second round of interviews on Tuesday with Ed Dodds and Terrance Gray.

This is a critical hire for the Titans, who have major roster questions to deal with this offseason and must land their new general manager before they can move forward. We will continually update the general manager search as each candidate interviews. Check back for any and all information.

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Bears hint that Rome Odunze was No. 2 on their draft board

Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham may have revealed that Rome Odunze was the second-highest player on their draft board.

It’s been almost a month since the Chicago Bears made their five selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, but we are finally seeing how the sausage was made when it came to the process. On Thursday evening, the Bears released the latest installment of 1920 Football Drive, their video series that goes behind the scenes of the team throughout the year.

This latest episode focused on the draft and what led to them selecting quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze in the first round. Williams was always a certainty given the Bears had the No. 1 overall pick and had already done extensive work prior to the draft to get him up to speed, but Odunze was much more of a wild card. General manager Ryan Poles had to sweat it out while watching teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans pick ahead of them, hoping they would pass on the receiver.

They lucked into a surprise when the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the pick in front of them, leaving Odunze ripe for the taking. After making the selection, the front office celebrated, and assistant general manager Ian Cunningham made an interesting remark as he and Poles embraced in a hug. “Number one and number two player, though.”

Did Cunningham reveal that Odunze was No. 2 on the Bears’ draft board? It certainly seems that way. The Washington standout was a top-10 player according to most draft analysts, and a few, such as NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, had him as high as No. 3. Odunze was in the same class as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, but his skillset and character fit what the Bears were looking for. Odunze led the FBS in receiving yards during the 2023 season with 1,640 yards and added 13 touchdowns for the Huskies during their run to the National Championship game.

It’s also possible the Bears omitted a player like Harrison, who was a near lock to go within the top-five picks and was selected at No. 4 overall. Still, Cunningham makes it sound like Odunze was always their top target going into the draft. His comment was made in the moment too, so there isn’t any sort of revisionist history after the fact. Based on the entire front office’s reaction when he fell into their lap, it’s quite believable. “We didn’t have to give up anything!” Poles remarked after the selection. “I can’t believe it,” head coach Matt Eberflus exclaimed.

The Bears seemingly found a way to land their two top players going into the draft with picks No. 1 and No. 9 and without needing to trade up. It’s a day that could be remembered for a long time if both Williams and Odunze reach their potential.

Bears sign assistant GM Ian Cunningham to contract extension

The Bears have signed assistant GM Ian Cunningham to a contract extension. He’s set to become a top GM candidate next hiring cycle.

The Chicago Bears have locked down assistant general manager Ian Cunningham to a contract extension, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Cunningham joined the Bears in 2022, where he’s worked closely with general manager Ryan Poles. A new position — assistant GM — was created just for Cunningham, and he’s played a huge role in team moves over the past couple of years and getting this roster to the place it is now.

Before Cunningham joined Chicago, he spent four years in Philadelphia, where he served a number of roles with the Eagles. He started as director of college scouting (2017), moved up to assistant director of player personnel (2019) and finally was promoted to director of player personnel (2021).

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According to Schefter, Cunningham is expected to be one of the top GM candidates in the next hiring cycle. He’s interviewed for — and even passed on — some openings over the past two years.

“I am blessed out of my socks to have him by my side that is not a yes man,” Poles said of Cunningham Tuesday during their pre-draft press conference. “We would not be where we are today without Ian being an incredible partner.”

If Cunningham joins another organization as GM, the Bears would receive compensation as part of the Rooney Rule. If a team loses a minority executive or coach to another team, that team would receive a third-round compensatory pick for the next two years.

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Chargers general manager candidate profile: Ian Cunningham

Examining who Ian Cunningham is, where he comes from and why he’d be a good choice to be the GM of the Chargers.

For the first time in a decade, the Chargers are searching for a new general manager.

Tom Telesco and head coach Brandon Staley were fired on December 15, ushering in a new era of football in one half of SoFi Stadium. Telesco, hired in 2013 as the youngest general manager in franchise history, brought the team to just three playoff appearances and two wins.

So, who could be next?

Bears Assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham

The son of a basketball agent and cousin of tennis player Arthur Ashe, Cunningham started 31 games at Virginia as a center and guard before signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent. As a Cavalier, he played under coach Al Groh, who had spent time as an assistant under Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Nick Saban, among others. Groh put Cunningham in touch with Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, who hired the 23-year-old as a player personnel assistant in 2008, the same year Baltimore hired John Harbaugh.

Over the next eight years, Cunningham climbed the ranks in Baltimore, becoming the Southeast area scout for the team in 2013 and adding the Southwest area starting in 2015. A move to Philadelphia in 2017 earned him a promotion to director of college scouting and a second Super Bowl ring while working under Howie Roseman. Cunningham was promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2019 and director of player personnel in 2021, a position he held for just a year before being hired as the assistant general manager for the Bears under Ryan Poles.

The 38-year-old Cunningham also declined the Cardinals GM opening that eventually went to Monti Ossenfort last season. In Tennessee, Cunningham was the runner-up to new general manager Ran Carthon during the Titans’ search in 2023. Earlier this week, Cunningham also lost out on the Commanders front office opening to 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters. Later that day, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reported that Cunningham would interview with the Chargers on January 14th.

In 2020, while serving as assistant director of player personnel in Philadelphia, Cunningham was named to The Athletic’s 40 Under 40 list, which tabbed him as one of the “few minority candidates in the GM pipeline.” In a 2022 interview with the Bears media team about his role as assistant GM, Cunningham said that his responsibilities included “free agent meetings, draft meetings, operations, sports science, strength, and conditioning.”

With those responsibilities in mind, it’s reasonable to evaluate Cunningham to some degree on what Chicago has done in the draft and free agency over the past two seasons. In 2022, Chicago found a starting offensive tackle, Southern Utah’s Braxton Jones, in the fifth round. They supplemented that choice with ten other selections, including starting secondary members Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker. This year, the Bears found their other starting tackle, first-rounder Darnell Wright, and Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson at cornerback and Texas running back Roschon Johnson.

Chicago has had a rocky record in the trade market, however. The Bears sent Roquan Smith to Baltimore for draft capital, only to see Smith continue his All-Pro level play as one of the best linebackers in the league. They traded the 33rd overall pick in 2022 for Chase Claypool. But they’ve also shown a willingness to move around on draft night, sliding down a spot from 9 to 10, likely thanks to Cunningham’s connections in Philadelphia. They traded up in the second for Stevenson, then sent another second later in the year for Montez Sweat, who immediately took Chicago’s defense a step forward.

Around the league, Cunningham is seen as one of the foremost general manager candidates on the market. The Athletic reported in relation to the Commanders job that he and Peters were considered the most sought-after candidates this cycle. That report also cites Cunningham’s “ability to marry traditional player evaluation with analytics” as a major draw. That should be especially appealing to a Chargers organization that often felt constrained by Telesco’s traditional vision for how to build a team.

When reporting Cunningham’s interview scheduled for Sunday, Popper wrote that “interest on both sides” was in Chicago’s assistant general manager coming to Los Angeles as the headman. The 38-year-old would break Telesco’s record as the youngest GM in franchise history, with an influx of new ideas about how to win in the modern NFL. He also has ties to oft-rumored Chargers head coaching target Jim Harbaugh through his brother John, the head coach of the Ravens while Cunningham was working his way up the ladder.

Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham passed over for Commanders job

Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham was a finalist for the Commanders’ job, which went to 49ers’ Adam Peters.

Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is once again expected to be in high demand this offseason, made evident by the fact that he’s already interviewed for two GM vacancies.

Cunningham was a finalist for the Washington Commanders head of football operations job. But the Commanders have decided to go in another direction, hiring San Francisco 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, according to multiple media insiders.

So far this offseason, Cunningham has interviewed with the Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers. And according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Cunningham is still in the mix for the Chargers’ vacancy.

Cunningham was a top candidate during last year’s cycle, where he interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. He was a finalist for the Titans job, which went to Ran Carthon, and reportedly turned down the Cardinals job.

General manager Ryan Poles recently spoke about Cunningham and co-director of player personnel Jeff King garnering interest for GM jobs.

“I’m extremely proud, because part of my own deal is I want to produce as many GMs in this league as possible,” Poles said. “I’m proud of them. But at the same time, those are big shoes to fill.”

Commanders reportedly down to 2 candidates for next head of football operations

The Commanders are down to two candidates for their next head of football operations.

And then there were two.

The Washington Commanders fired head coach/head of football operations Ron Rivera on Monday, one day after the team finished 4-13, and quickly went to work, finding his replacements.

Washington requested permission to speak with Adam Peters (49ers assistant GM), Ian Cunningham (Bears assistant GM), Alec Halaby (Eagles assistant GM), Mike Borgonzi (Chiefs assistant GM) and Glenn Cook (Browns assistant GM) to fill the head of operations role.

After interviewing all five candidates over a two-day period on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Commanders are down to two: Peters and Cunningham.

Peters and Cunningham will now go through a second round of interviews that will include owner Josh Harris’ minority partners, David Blitzer, Magic Johnson and Mitchell Rales, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Harris promised a thorough but rapid process when he spoke to the media on Monday. That’s been the case. Washington has also requested permission to speak with at least seven head-coaching candidates but has yet to begin that process as it wants to have the new head of football operations in place beforehand.

Bears’ Ian Cunningham a finalist for Commanders’ Head of Football Ops job

Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham is a finalist for the Commanders’ head of football operations opening.

Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham has been in high demand for a second consecutive offseason, and he’s one step closer to landing a gig of his own.

Cunningham is a finalist for the Washington Commanders head of football operations job, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Also a finalist: San Francisco 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters.

The Commanders are moving quickly when it comes to locking down a new head of football operations. According to Rapoport, the first round of interviews have been completed in the last 48 hours and second interviews with finalists are expected soon.

Cunningham was a top candidate during last year’s cycle, where he interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. He was a finalist for the Titans job, which went to Ran Carthon, and reportedly turned down the Cardinals job.

So far this offseason, Cunningham has interviewed with the Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers.

General manager Ryan Poles recently spoke about Cunningham and co-director of player personnel Jeff King garnering interest for GM jobs.

“I’m extremely proud, because part of my own deal is I want to produce as many GMs in this league as possible,” Poles said. “I’m proud of them. But at the same time, those are big shoes to fill.”

Commanders 2024 GM search tracker

Keep track of all the news on Washington’s GM search here.

The Washington Commanders fired Ron Rivera on Monday after four seasons as head coach. In addition to Rivera’s role as coach, he also had final say on all personnel matters.

Shortly after dismissing Rivera, Washington managing partner Josh Harris released a statement thanking Rivera while also announcing that he formed a small advisory committee to assist him in finding a new head of football operations and head coach. As Harris stated in his press conference on Monday, these will be separate roles.

The advisory committee consisted of Harris, minority owners Magic Johnson, Mitch Rales and David Blitzer. Additionally, Harris brought on former Golden State Warriors president and GM Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Speilman to serve as a part of his search committee in finding the ideal candidates.

Washington immediately began requesting permission to speak to GM and coaching candidates. We developed a list of potential GM candidates, some of whom the Commanders will interview.

We have you covered on Washington’s GM search as we’ll keep you up to date on all of the latest news here.

Chargers put in request to interview Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham

The Chargers are the second team this offseason to request an interview with Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham.

Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham was in high demand last offseason, and this year appears to be no different. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Los Angeles Chargers have put in a request to interview Cunningham for their vacant general manager position. The Chargers are the second team that has shown interest in Cunningham this offseason, along with the Washington Commanders, who put in a request on Monday.

Los Angeles is searching for its next general manager and head coach after firing Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley late in the 2023 season. Cunningham joins a growing list of candidates, including New Orleans Saints vice president and assistant general manager Jeff Ireland, San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters, Buffalo Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, and New York Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown, all of whom have been contacted by the Chargers.

Cunningham is in his second season with the Bears as assistant general manager and has been Ryan Poles’ right-hand man. He’s been instrumental in turning the roster around through the draft and free agency. He was a top candidate last year and turned down the Arizona Cardinals general manager job. Cunningham was also a finalist for the Tennessee Titans job that went to Ran Carthon.

Prior to his experience with the Bears, Cunningham spent four years with the Philadelphia Eagles in a number of roles. He started as director of college scouting (2017), moved up to assistant director of player personnel (2019), and finally was promoted to director of player personnel (2021).

Because Cunningham has been with the Bears for at least two seasons, the team would receive a third-round compensatory pick in each of the next two seasons if he were to get hired as a general manager as part of the Rooney Rule.

10 potential general manager candidates for the Commanders

Let the offseason begin. Here are 10 potential Washington general manager candidates.

The Washington Commanders began the offseason on Monday by firing head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera went 26-40-1 in four seasons as Washington’s head coach.

In addition to firing Rivera, the Commanders announced an advisory committee formed by managing partner Josh Harris, minority owners David Blitzer, Magic Johnson, Mitch Rales and former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman. The purpose of the advisory committee is to find a new coach and head of football operations.

While Martin Mayhew serves as Washington’s general manager, he reports to Rivera. Rivera hired Mayhew as his handpicked GM in the 2021 offseason, but all football decisions began and ended with Rivera.

Harris spent the 2023 NFL season consulting with Rivera, Mayhew, and executive VP of football/player personnel Marty Hurney while making his first significant hire: Eugene Shen. Shen was hired in October as Washington’s senior vice president of football strategy and has been heavily involved in preparing to reshape the organization’s future.

Mayhew and Hurney will remain in the organization while Washington conducts its search for the new head of football operations.

The Commanders are set to hire their first true general manager since Charley Casserly was dismissed in 1999. While some have held the title over the years, it was never the traditional setup, as former owner Snyder was always heavily involved.

Who will be Washington’s next general manager? We preview 10 potential candidates. The Commanders have already inquired about some of the names on this list.