Thus far, GM Ryan Poles hasn't made any significant changes to the Chicago Bears front office outside of one. He created the assistant GM position for the sole purpose of luring his friend and top executive Ian Cunningham from Philadelphia. The man comes with an impressive pedigree. He spent several years in the Baltimore Ravens scouting department, one of the best in the NFL. Then his arrival in 2017 helped the Eagles to put the finishing touches on a Super Bowl championship roster.
Since then, Cunnigham helped the organization recover from the decline following that title victory, overhauling the roster to once again make the playoffs in 2021. Now he is hoping to do the same in Chicago. It turns out the young exec has many fans around the NFL. Adam Jahns of The Athletic spoke to several people at the scouting combine. One interesting comment kept coming up that could prove critical in the coming weeks.
It was offset by praise for new assistant GM Ian Cunningham, though. He may be the most popular member of the new staff. League sources raved about what he can mean for Poles and the personnel department. “Cunningham will bring guys in,” one agent said. “They’ll sign because of him.” “He’s the one,” a rival front-office executive said.
An interesting comment that has some validity behind it.
Since Ian Cunningham became the assistant director of player personnel in 2019, the Eagles began having considerable good fortune on the veteran market. In 2020 they signed Javon Hargrave as a free agent from Pittsburgh. He just made the Pro Bowl this past season. Then he helped the team secure cornerback Darius Slay via trade from Detroit. He also made the Pro Bowl last season. This doesn't include Anthony Harris and Ryan Kerrigan, who both signed for pennies last year and helped the defense finish 10th in the league.Those successes aren't just because of Cunningham, but it's apparent the Eagles were able to secure some quality names on a regular basis. Always without having to break the bank in doing so. Combine this with the comments above, and it leads you to wonder if he was their ace in recruiting pitches. That would make his hiring by Poles look even better, especially since his expertise is more on the college scouting side. With so few draft picks, the Bears will need to score some hits in free agency this year. Having Cunningham may prove vital.
