Bears Make Major Front Office Move One Day Before the Draft

The Chicago Bears have been one of the busiest teams in the league this offseason as they have signed multiple free agents, traded their starting quarterback from last season, and have two first-round picks (Nos. 1 and 10) in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Bears’ busy offseason continued on Wednesday as they made a notable move to keep their front office intact for the foreseeable future. Chicago signed assistant GM Ian Cunningham to a contract extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Schefter adds that Cunningham has been Poles’ top lieutenant and is expected to be one of the top GM candidates in the next hiring cycle. 

The 38-year-old Cunningham is a rising general manager candidate as he’s been interviewed over the last two offseasons for various openings. Back in 2023, Cunningham was a finalist for the Tennessee Titans’ GM vacancy, which ultimately went to Ran Carthon.

Cunningham has spent the last two years with the Bears after working with the Philadelphia Eagles as their director of college scouting, assistant director of player personnel, and director of player personnel across five years.

Before latching on with the Eagles, Cunningham got his start with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 where he was player personnel assistant for four years and moved on to scouting in his last four years with the team.

If the Bears can take that next step this season with a rookie quarterback, Cunningham will easily be one of the first people hired for a GM vacancy in the offseason.

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