Ian Cunningham Outlines His Roster-Building Strategy for Falcons

ATLANTA – Ian Cunningham has been officially introduced as the next general manager of the Atlanta Falcons. He arrives in Atlanta after four seasons with the Chicago Bears alongside Ryan Poles, five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, and nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

That experience was a major factor in Matt Ryan, who sat alongside him on Tuesday, and the Falcons settled on Cunningham.

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“He learned from incredible general managers during those stops, whether that be Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta in Baltimore, Howie Roseman in Philadelphia, and Ryan Poles in Chicago,” Ryan said in his opening statement. “That was one of the biggest selling points for us on Ian, was his experience in all areas of scouting. He has touched it all. From the general manager position, an understanding of what those positions go through and what the expectations for them are was very important to us throughout the process.”

It was a long road for Cunningham, starting as a scout in 2008, but one the Falcons believe will be quite valuable and one the new general manager is eager to match.

“Fortunately for me, I have been around some of the greats to ever do it,” Cunningham said about his experiences. “If I can be half as good as them, that's what I am striving for, trying to be as good as them.”

These stops have equated to five division titles, two Super Bowls, and a consistency of winning. He reached the playoffs in 10 of his 14 seasons as a scout before going to Chicago, where he led the Bears through a rebuild that culminated in their first NFC North title since 2018.

Now, he will look to do the same for the Falcons organization, which has been starved for success since 2017. He said he wants a “smart, tough, physical” football team, but how he plans to do this was an important question during his introduction on Tuesday.

“We are going to build through the trenches,” Cunningham explained. “If you look at all of those teams [I was with], that's the philosophy. Draft, develop, and retain. That's going to be our philosophy here, too. You can't have enough draft picks. We did that in Baltimore. You want to retain your own. So, that's what we are going to do.”

The Falcons have five picks in this spring’s NFL Draft, and those will be an asset that Cunningham craves. Whether they are used as currency for trades or more swings at the plate, the acquisition of picks can be extremely valuable for an organization.

“There are different ways you can use them, but that's why we value them. That's why we will value them," he said. “We only have five right now, but we had, we only had five in Chicago my first year there, too. I think we ended up with 10. So we love those picks, and we're going to definitely build through the draft that way.”

In terms of his draft strategy, he learned from his days in Baltimore that drafting for need is like being a “dog chasing its tail.”

In terms of cap compliance and creativity, Cunningham has also gleaned some information from his time in Philadelphia. Eagles GM, Roseman, is a known wizard of the salary cap, but the Falcons have been rather conservative with their cap ($20 million in deferred spending).

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Cunningham clearly stated that he never wants to “mortgage the future for the now” and wants to avoid dead money, but that it should not stop how they attack the cap.

“We are going to be creative,” he said. “We are going to be innovative in that area moving forward.”

With the new regime now in place and a philosophy defined, the Falcons’ next moves are from planning to execution. Draft capital is limited, but roster decisions are aplenty. How the next several months unfurl will reveal whether these blueprints can bring Atlanta back to the postseason.