Watch Ian Cunningham Make His First Appearance at Falcons HQ

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons have officially named Ian Cunningham as the next general manager, and now the new head of personnel decisions has made his first appearance at team headquarters.

The Falcons’ digital team recorded the moment that Cunningham first stepped into the team facility at Flowery Branch, and published it on the team’s YouTube channel.

A new iteration to Ian 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Qtbk0rzKrT
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) February 2, 2026

In the video, Cunningham tours the locker rooms and team offices before spending some time with new head coach Kevin Stefanski.

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The search, headlined by Matt Ryan, concluded on Thursday. Cunningham was one of six candidates that Ryan and Atlanta considered for the position, with him and James Liipfert of the Houston Texans advancing as finalists. Both were brought in for final interviews that week before Ryan and the Falcons settled on their decision.

“It was evident through our rigorous interview process that Ian was the right choice for our general manager position,’ said Ryan in an official 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. Throughout Ian’s career, including Super Bowl championships in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Ian 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 has spent 14 years between Howie Roseman in Philadelphia and Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, winning a pair of Super Bowls in that period.

Since 2022, he has been with the Chicago Bears as the assistant general manager under Ryan Poles. There, he played a central role with the new-look team that won the NFC North for only the second time in the last 15 years.

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The new general manager is set to be formally introduced on Tuesday, his first time speaking with the media and the city he will now call home.

“It’s truly an honor to be the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, and I couldn’t be more thankful to Arthur Blank, Matt Ryan, Greg Beadles, Josh Blank, and the entire search committee for believing in me,” said Cunningham in an official statement. “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. 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 that 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.”

He will officially assume his duties immediately and work alongside Stefanski to assemble the Falcons’ 2026 roster and the remaining pieces of the coaching staff. The Falcons will look to snap out of what has grown into an eight-year playoff drought.