Ryan Poles Has Found Ian Cunningham’s Replacement — Here’s What It Means
Ian Cunningham finally departed for his own general manager position this offseason, taking over the Atlanta Falcons. That left Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles with the difficult decision on who to replace him with. There was speculation that he might consider an outside option, perhaps someone close to head coach Ben Johnson. Others felt the most obvious decision was to promote Jeff King, the senior director of player personnel, to the role. On February 19th, we got the answer.
The Bears announced King would be the new assistant general manager, marking a somewhat meteoric rise for the executive, who joined the team as a scout in 2015.
King’s value to the organization became apparent after Poles arrived. He was said to be instrumental in the scouting and recruitment of quarterback Tyson Bagent, and only gained the team’s confidence with his ability to negotiate trades during the draft. Insiders have said he’s highly respected around the league. So this decision isn’t much of a surprise. However, the work might not be done.
Ryan Poles still has a significant void in his front office.
Promoting King may have filled Cunningham’s job slot, but it still leaves the Bears’ front office without one of their most prominent talent evaluators. It would make sense for the GM to bring in some help to balance that loss. It doesn’t have to be another director of player personnel. It could be an additional scouting director or national scout. The Bears don’t want to let such a brain drain sit without doing something. Poles hasn’t brought in an outsider since taking over in 2022. Could this be the year that changes?
As to who it could be? That is a difficult question to answer. It isn’t clear what connections Poles may have around the league, aside from his obvious ones with the Kansas City Chiefs. King has ties to Carolina and Arizona, but that was as a player. Coach Johnson built relationships in Miami and Detroit. Those are possible avenues to explore. Then again. Ryan Poles has gotten to know tons of people from the many meetings during the various All-Star games, Senior Bowls, and scouting combines over the past three years.
The likely outcome of this is that the Bears won’t make a decision until after the draft. They’re already deep in evaluations, and bringing in an outside voice now could derail the entire process.