The Bears are giving assistant general manager Ian Cunningham a multi-year contract extension, a source confirmed Wednesday morning.
Cunningham is GM Ryan Poles’ chief deputy and a respected name in NFL circles. He interviewed for the Commanders’ GM job in January and for the Cardinals’ and Titans’ GM jobs a year earlier.
The contract will not prevent Cunningham from interviewing for more GM jobs in the future, but it secures his role working alongside Poles, whom he considers a close friend.
“Just extremely grateful for the opportunity,” he said Tuesday of working with Poles. “Not many people in any walk in life get to work with arguably one of their best friends. So for me to be able to work alongside him, for him to trust me.”
Like Poles, Cunningham played offensive line in college. He worked for the Ravens from 2008-16 and the Eagles from 2017-21, spending the last season as player personnel director. He’s been the Bears’ assistant GM since Poles was hired in 2022.
