ATLANTA — After thanking the local media in attendance at his introductory press conference, Ian Cunningham took a cleansing breath and looked around the room.
"I'm just taking this in for a second," Cunningham said with emotion weighing his words.
Since he began thinking about a career beyond the sport he loved as a young adult at the University of Virginia, Cunningham knew he wanted to be a general manager. Of course, he said with a slight laugh, he would have loved to play football a little bit longer. But when the opportunity came to enter the workforce, he knew exactly what he needed to do to reach his goal: join one of the best front offices possible.
That opportunity arrived when the Baltimore Ravens took a chance on a self-proclaimed "22-year-old knucklehead," hiring him into their scouting department as a player personnel assistant. The move came via a recommendation from Cunningham's Virginia head coach, Al Groh.
This was where Cunningham's journey began — doing the grunt work that forms the backbone of NFL organizations.
"(Baltimore) taught me what scouting was," Cunningham said, "from the ground up."
After five seasons as an assistant, Cunningham became a full-time scout following the Ravens' Super Bowl run in 2012. Over the next three seasons, he covered both the Southeast and Southwest regions. During his nine seasons in Baltimore, the Ravens reached the playoffs six times, won two AFC North titles and captured the 2012 Super Bowl.
Cunningham next gained leadership experience with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as director of college scouting and later director of player personnel. It was there he learned how to run a staff and build a roster collaboratively and comprehensively.
"Teaching me the nuances of the game through a different lens, roster construction and team building," Cunningham explained.
During his five-year tenure in Philadelphia, the Eagles reached the playoffs four times, won the NFC East twice and captured a Super Bowl.
Cunningham then moved on to Chicago, where he became the first assistant general manager in Bears history. Alongside general manager Ryan Poles, he helped position the Bears to earn a divisional title in 2025 — a chapter of his journey that reinforced the value of patience.
"We went through the fire together," Cunningham said of Poles. "We started off a little rocky and we were able to come out the other end this past season with the NFC North title."
At every stop, Cunningham was part of programs playing into January and February. It's something the Falcons crave as an organization that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2017 — and something they believe Cunningham can help restore. He's been there before. He knows the map.
"Smart, tough, physical. We are going to build through the trenches. If you look at all of those teams, that's the philosophy," Cunningham said of the programs he's been part of. "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."
It's that collective experience that ultimately drew Atlanta to Cunningham.
"We were looking for somebody who was well-versed in terms of their experience, and has touched all of the different parts of scouting," president of football Matt Ryan said. "That's was something that was important for us because there's a lot that falls under Ian's control, so you want somebody who is comfortable, who understands each individual's role in his department."
Cunningham has worked alongside some of the league's most successful executives — Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta in Baltimore, Howie Roseman in Philadelphia, and most recently Kevin Warren, Ted Phillips and Poles in Chicago. From each stop, he's taken pieces of strategy and leadership while carving out his own identity as a decision-maker.
In a sit-down interview with FOX 5’s Justin Felder, Cunningham detailed the qualities he admired most in those mentors.
From Newsome, it was discipline and evaluation skills. From Roseman, innovation and creativity. From Poles, attention to detail and leadership rooted in humility — leading with no ego and being a "genuinely good human being."
"Fortunately for me, I have been around some of the greats to ever do it," Cunningham said. "If I can be half as good as them, that's what I am striving for. I'm trying to be as good as them."
His philosophy is straightforward: Build through the trenches and through the draft. You can never have too many draft picks, he said, and he won't mortgage the future for short-term gain. Those principles — learned, tested and refined throughout his career — now serve as the foundation for what comes next.
Because Cunningham's past continues to shape his future — now as Atlanta's general manager.
