The Falcons announced the hiring of Ian Cunningham as their new General Manager.
Cunningham, who arrives in Atlanta after four seasons with the Bears as assistant GM, will report directly to the team’s president of football, Matt Ryan.
“It was evident through our rigorous interview process that Ian was the right choice for our General Manager position,’ Ryan said in a 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 [Kevin] 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.”
The Bears acquired four players who earned three All-Pro honors and four Pro Bowl selections during Cunningham’s time in Chicago. The 2025 Chicago offense finished sixth in the NFL in total offense, with 13 of 15 players who played at least 400 snaps acquired during Cunningham’s tenure.
“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,” Cunningham said. “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 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.”
Falcons Clips
The Falcons have filled out the top of their football operation.
After hiring former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to serve as president of football operations and Kevin Stefanski to be the new head coach, the Falcons have hired Bears assistant G.M. Ian Cunningham as the new General Manager, per multiple reports.
Cunningham also had been considered for the job Ryan filled.
Hired by the Bears in 2022, Cunningham previously worked for the Eagles from 2017 through 2021. He spent the nine years before that with the Ravens.
Earlier this month, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Ryan will be the primary decision maker in Atlanta. If accurate, it means that the Bears will not receive two third-round compensatory draft picks, pursuant to a Rooney Rule provision that promotes the development of minority candidates. It also means, if true, that the Bears could have blocked the move, since Cunningham won’t be a true G.M.
Regardless, the Falcons have made the hire. And the Falcons now have a three-man power structure that will be charged with reversing a playoff drought that dates back to 2017, one year after the Falcons lost Super Bowl LI to the Patriots.
The quarterback of those teams will now be calling the shots in the Atlanta front office.
The 49ers have had four defensive coordinators in four years. They will have a fifth in five years after Robert Saleh left for the Titans’ head coaching job.
The team has Raheem Morris, Joe Woods and Gus Bradley for their vacancy, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s future is uncertain after he didn’t get the team’s head coaching job, so he could become a candidate for any team looking for a defensive coordinator.
The 49ers had DeMeco Ryans as their defensive coordinator in 2021-22 before he left to become the head coach of the Texans. Steve Wilks lasted only one season before his firing, and Nick Sorensen followed for only one season before he and the 49ers parted ways. The 49ers reunited with Saleh for the 2025 season after the Jets fired him as head coach.
Now, the defense will have another new leader.
Morris was the defensive coordinator of the Falcons (2020) and Rams (2021-23) before taking over as the Falcons’ head coach. He went 8-9 in each of his two seasons before his firing earlier this month.
Woods was defensive coordinator of the Broncos (2017-18), Browns (2020-22) and Saints (2023-24). He joined the Raiders in 2025 as the team’s pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach.
Bradley was defensive coordinator of the Seahawks (2009-12), Chargers (2017-20), Raiders (2021) and Colts (2022-24). He was head coach of the Jaguars from 2013-16, going 14-48.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix’s history of knee injuries has led to some questions about his long-term future, but Penix has found a way to make a positive out of his past experiences.
Penix tore his left ACL in November after tearing the same ligament in his right knee twice during his time in college. Penix said this week that going through previous recoveries has left him confident that he’ll be back on top of his game once he’s back on the field this year.
“It’s something I’ve done before,” Penix said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’ve always came back stronger. I’ve always came back better. So, I don’t think anything less will happen. I feel like I’m in a good spot right now. I’m getting better each and every day. I’m just taking the rehab one day at a time.”
Penix said he’s aiming to be ready to play in Week 1, although it remains to be seen if his rehab will progress fast enough to make that a reality. How the Falcons will set up the rest of their quarterback room to guard against the possibility that Penix needs more time is something they’ll begin to work out once they have a new General Manager in place.
New Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski says that until the team has a general manager, there’s no way to say who the quarterbacks on the roster will be.
Asked on NFL Network about the status of Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, Stefanski said that’s a discussion that can happen when Falcons President Matt Ryan hires a GM.
“I think we have to hire a general manager first, before I can give you a great answer there,” Stefanski said. “Once we do that I’ll sit with the general manager, sit with Matt Ryan, we’ll put our heads together on all roster decisions.”
Stefanski has previously said he’s looking forward to working with Penix, and he said the Falcons are pleased with his rehab from last season’s torn ACL.
“Michael is a young player that I think very highly of, he is rehabbing off his injury, he’s doing great, he’s doing everything he’s supposed to be doing right now, which is the number one thing for him, is to get healthy,” Stefanski said. “He’s obviously played good football in his first two seasons. I’m excited to have the ability to develop him.”
Cousins is widely expected to be released soon, although Stefanski again said that decision will be for the next GM.
“Kirk, obviously, a relationship there, he’s somebody that I think very highly of on and off the field. But all those types of decisions will come after we have a general manager,” Stefanski said.
Is there any chance that both Cousins and Penix could be on the Falcons’ roster for the 2026 season?
“Those are all the types of discussions that will come in the next week or so,” Stefanski said.
Realistically, the most likely outcome is that Cousins will be gone and another quarterback will be brought in to compete with Penix. But a new GM comes first.
In each of the last two seasons with the Browns, head coach Kevin Stefanski turned over offensive play-calling duties to his offensive coordinator midway through the year.
That won’t be the case in 2026.
In his introductory press conference as Falcons head coach on Tuesday, Stefanski said that Rees will serve as Atlanta’s offensive play-caller.
“That’s a setup that I’m very, very comfortable with. I think he’s an outstanding football coach. He’s young, but I don’t know if you always measure experience just in years. I think he’s had unbelievable experiences in his young career,” Stefanski said, via George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal. “He is somebody that I trust. We see the game similarly, but we also push each other because we’re different, so Tommy will head up that offensive staff.”
Rees joined Stefanski with Cleveland in 2024 as a pass game specialist and tight ends coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2025.
After Kevin Stefanski was hired by the Falcons, one of his former Browns players took notice of a tweet referencing the team’s revolving door of quarterbacks during Stefanski’s tenure.
Baker Mayfield was the starting quarterback when Stefanski was hired as the head coach in Cleveland in 2020 and the two men guided the Browns to the divisional round of the playoffs that year, which is likely why Mayfield took issue with being called a failure and part of a “dumpster fire” at the position. Mayfield was traded to the Panthers after the Browns missed the playoffs in 2021 and went on to say he’s “still waiting” to hear from Stefanski after being “shipped off like a piece of garbage.”
Mayfield closed by saying that he’s looking forward to facing Stefanski twice a year. During an introductory press conference in Atlanta on Tuesday, Stefanski was asked for his response to Mayfield’s comments.
“Baker’s somebody that I have a ton of respect for as a player and a person,” Stefanski said. “I love rivalries in sports, and, obviously, Buccaneers-Falcons have a great rivalry. It’s something that I’m excited about. I would not get into the specifics of those type of things, other than to say I have a ton of respect for Baker as a player, as a person. That’s a great team with a great player.”
We don’t know when the Bucs and Falcons will play each other during the 2026 season, but both Mayfield and Stefanski are likely to field more questions about each other in the days leading up to their first matchup.
With president of football Matt Ryan and head coach Kevin Stefanski in place, the Falcons are moving toward finding the next member of their new regime.
According to multiple reports, Bears assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham and Texans assistant General Manager James Liipfert will both have second interviews for Atlanta’s General Manager vacancy this week.
Cunningham had interviewed for the president of football job that went to Ryan. He’s been in the mix for several G.M. jobs over the last few offseasons.
Liipfert interviewed with the Falcons for their G.M. job last week.
Atlanta is replacing Terry Fontenot, who spent five seasons in the role.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix hasn’t done much to prove he’s a franchise quarterback since arriving in Atlanta as the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. But new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski says he’s optimistic about what Penix can do.
Penix is rehabbing a torn ACL, and Stefanski said that’s the primary focus right now.
“Michael is somebody I’m very excited about, and his rehab is what’s most important right now. I saw him in the training room this week. He’s, as you can imagine, attacking his rehab,” Stefanski said, via Terrin Waack of the Falcons.
So what will the Falcons get from Penix once he’s cleared to return?
“I think you see a player on tape that can get through progressions, can layer the ball, can push the ball to all areas of the field,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, he was very productive in college, has had some really, really, really good moments here in the pros, so I just see a young player that will continue to develop and continue to get there.”
The Falcons also have Kirk Cousins on the roster at the moment, but they’re expected to cut him soon. Stefanski served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator of the Vikings in Cousins’ first two seasons in Minnesota but was noncommittal on whether there’s a chance that Cousins could be in Atlanta this year.
“When it comes to Kirk, obviously have a previous relationship with Kirk. But I don’t know if it’s the time yet to talk about all the position and those types of things. Those types of conversations will come in due time,” Stefanski said.
The Ravens have made a key addition for one of their offensive assistants under first-year coach Jesse Minter.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Baltimore is set to hire former Atlanta run game coordinator/offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford for the same job and title.
Ledford, 49, had served as the Falcons line coach since 2021, adding run game coordinator to his title when Raheem Morris became head coach in 2024.
Ledford spent time with several franchises as a player, appearing in nine games for San Francisco from 2000-2003.
