FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Just a few days before his college career as a starting offensive lineman for the University of Virginia came to a close, a young (but 298-pound) Ian Cunningham spoke to Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writer Jeff White. Virginia was set to face Texas Tech at the Gator Bowl on New Years Day, circa 2008.
As that day drew near, Cunningham and his father — Louis Cunningham — reflected on the lineman's time at Virginia, which included 31 starts along the line's interior, mainly at guard.
Little did he know this singular interview would be a manifestation for the position Cunningham now holds in Atlanta nearly two decades later; the position of a general manager.
Reflecting on what would be next in life for him, Cunningham set a dream in motion.
"People tell me I should go to law school," Cunningham was quoted saying in a December issue of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2007. "I have teachers telling me I should go to business school and things like that. I don't know. I'm going to see how long I can play football, and the good Lord willing, I can play for a little while longer. Then, after that, I want to become general manager for a professional football team."
His father, Louis, echoed his son's goal. Doubling down on it, in fact.
"If history holds true," Louis said, "he'll be a general manager, if not an owner, of a team."
Cunningham began nurturing that dream early. Despite his hope to continue playing, that wasn't necessarily long withstanding. Cunningham was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2008. However, by that year's end, he had traded in his helmet for a suite, and began his executive career as a player personnel assistant in the Ravens organization. He held that job for five seasons before moving onto the road as an area scout until 2016.
By 2017, Cunningham was quickly moving up the executive ranks. He made the move to Philadelphia to become the Eagles' director of college scouting that year. Before becoming the assistant general manager in Chicago — his most recent title on Ryan Poles' Bears staff — he was the director of player personnel for the Eagles in 2021.
And now, after helping to guide a re-vamped Bears team the last few years, Cunningham's dream of being a general manager is fully and finally realized with the Falcons.
In that same newspaper article from back in December 2007, then-Virginia head coach Al Groh was seemingly asked about Cunningham's impact as a player and what he thought about Cunningham moving into the next chapter of his life.
"It really will be different without Ian around here, and not just from a physical standpoint," Groh was quoted saying. "He's always been mature for his age. ... Another way of putting it is, Ian's very ready to go into the big world as a real adult."
It's a big world, yes, but Cunningham is right where he once hoped he'd be.
