The Chicago Bears just watched one of their top front office minds, Ian Cunningham, land a general manager job with the Atlanta Falcons. That move should’ve come with a silver lining for the Bears-namely, two third-round compensatory picks under the NFL’s Rooney Rule. But there’s a twist, and it’s left a lot of folks in Chicago scratching their heads.
Here’s the deal: The Rooney Rule was expanded in recent years to reward teams that develop minority candidates for top football operations roles. When a minority executive is hired away by another team to become their general manager or head coach, the team they’re leaving gets a pair of third-round compensatory picks over two drafts. It’s a way to incentivize diversity and recognize the developmental work done by the original team.
But in Cunningham’s case, the Bears aren’t getting those picks. Why?
Because the Falcons listed their president of football operations, Matt Ryan, as the top football decision-maker. That designation technically makes Cunningham a step below in the hierarchy, which means no draft pick compensation for Chicago.
That’s where things get murky.
Ryan himself may have just blown the lid off that explanation. In a recent interview, he was asked point-blank about who’s making the football decisions in Atlanta.
His answer? It wasn’t vague.
"Ian is in charge. Ian is in charge of that space," Ryan said.
"I'm looking forward to learning about this. I said it the other day in Ian's presser.
I've never sat in a draft room and so Monday is going to be the first time I'm sitting in a draft meeting and I've got a lot to learn. Sitting, observing, being a fly on the wall.
If there is something that Ian has a question about or something I can help with, I'm all ears and I'm happy to share my opinion, but Ian is driving this boat and he is the one leading us moving forward."
That’s not exactly a subtle endorsement. Ryan is openly saying Cunningham is the one making the calls.
He’s steering the ship. And if that’s the case, it sure sounds like Cunningham fits the criteria for the kind of promotion the Rooney Rule is meant to reward.
So now, Bears fans are asking a very reasonable question: Where are our picks?
From the outside looking in, it feels like the Falcons may have found a technicality to avoid triggering the compensatory pick process. Whether that was by design or just the way the front office titles were structured, the end result is the same-Chicago misses out on two valuable mid-round picks for developing a minority executive who just took over football operations for another franchise.
This isn’t just about the Bears, either. The NFL has worked hard to encourage more equitable hiring practices, and compensatory picks have been a tangible part of that push. If teams can sidestep the system by tweaking job titles while still handing over full decision-making power, that’s a loophole worth closing.
Cunningham earned this opportunity. He’s been a rising star in front office circles for years, and his time in Chicago helped shape him into a GM candidate. The Bears invested in his development, and under the current rules, they should be seeing a return on that investment.
Whether the league steps in to take a closer look remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure-based on Ryan’s own words, it’s hard to argue that Cunningham isn’t the guy calling the shots in Atlanta. And if that’s true, Chicago has every reason to feel shortchanged.