Bears general manager Ryan Poles has long expected to lose assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, and that’s becoming closer to a reality.
Cunningham, 39, was in-person for his second interview with the Titans on Wednesday and appears to be a finalist for the job.
He has had interviews before and turned down an offer from the Cardinals to be their general manager a year ago.
Poles hired Cunningham when he joined the Bears in January 2022, and he’s been essential to the personnel department. The two are longtime friends and even lived together their early time with the Bears.
Cunningham has not been part of the Bears’ interviews with candidates for head coach. Poles said he wanted him to have time to prepare for his own job interviews and that he would join the process if it became clear he was coming back to the Bears.
Cunningham, a former offensive lineman out of Virginia, got his start as an assistant and scout with the Ravens. He rose to director of player personnel with the Eagles in 2021 before Poles brought him to the Bears.