Cunningham will officially take over for the fired Terry Fontenot along with coach Raheem Morris on Jan. 4, coming off an 8-9 season that fell well short of Blank’s expectations. Indeed, 2026 will be a pivotal year for the franchise, as Cunningham replaces Fontenot, who had been the team’s general manager since 2021. Atlanta has not advanced to the postseason or posted a winning season since 2017, when Dan Quinn was the head coach, Thomas Ryan Dimitroff was the team’s GM.
With Ryan overseeing the newly minted Falcons, Stefanski, Cunningham and Michael Penix Jr. are expected to step up. returning quarterback will drive the franchise to the kind of prosperity that has been so difficult to find for nearly a decade.
Cunningham is fresh off a turnaround in Chicago, where he was Bears GM Ryan Poles’ right-hand man as the team restructured the roster, hired an offensive-minded head coach in Ben Johnson and saw fruit in the form of an NFC North title and NFC division championship.
While the GM-less Jaguars were hiring Coen, Cunningham had already played with the Bears and GM Ryan Poland brought in Ben Johnson to lead Chicago. It was the latest impressive highlight on a resume that boasts a background of strong analytical and scouting experience.
Cunningham has been part of two Super Bowl-winning squads: the 2012 Baltimore Ravens as a personnel assistant and the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles as the director of college scouting.
After long runs with Baltimore (2008-2016) and Philadelphia (2017-2021), Cunningham’s time with Chicago was his shortest, having joined the franchise in 2022.
He has risen through the ranks and is now taking over the reins of the Falcons with the goal of turning the competition around and ending a very tumultuous season.