Falcons have interviewed 6 known candidates for GM position
Over the past two days, the Falcons completed interviews with six candidates for their vacant general manager position.
The Falcons interviewed Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham; Texans assistant general manager James Liipfert; Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl; 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams; and Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Bradway.
After five seasons, former general manager Terry Fontenot was fired Jan. 4 — hours after the Falcons completed their eighth consecutive losing season.
Here’s as a look at the candidates:
Ian Cunningham, Bears
Cunningham, who played at Virginia, signed as an undrafted offensive lineman with the Chiefs in 2008, where he had a locker next to Tony Gonzalez, the future Hall of Famer. He was waived before the start of the season and that was the end of the road as a player after starting 31 games at Virginia, where he was honorable mention freshman All-American.
He had a post-playing career plan. He wanted to get into football personnel.
He reaching out to then Virginia coach Al Groh, who put him touch with three people, including Ozzie Newsome. Groh had coached in the NFL with Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
Newsome, the Hall of Fame tight end who starred for the Browns from 1978-90, was the Ravens general manager. He met Cunningham and hired him as his 23-year-old personal assistant.
Normally, the personnel assistants spend a year in college ranks as a graduate assistant working in recruiting.
Newsome has been instrumental in Cunningham’s growth.
“The reason why I’m here is because of Ozzie,” Cunningham told Bears.com in 2022.
Newsome, considered one of the best talent evaluators in the league, taught Cunningham how to evaluate talent.
At the end of each day, Cunningham would go into Newsome’s office to discuss the days transactions and scouting.
Cunningham tried to learn as much as he could from Newsome, Eric DeCosta and Joe Douglas, who was at the Ravens during the same period.
Cunningham started to move up the ranks with the Ravens. He was an area scout from 2012-16 after five seasons as a player personnel assistant.
He went to the Eagles in 2017 as their director of college scouting (2017-18), assistant director of player personnel (2019-20) and was promoted to director of player personnel (2021).
While at Virginia, Cunningham earned a psychology degree in 2007 and a master’s degree in education in 2008. He believes that studying psychology has helped in his roles evaluating players in the NFL.
Ryan Poles became the Bears general manager in January 2022 and he hired Cunningham four days later as the assistant general manager. Poles could be at peace about the evaluation process if he got pulled in other directions.
Cunningham has run free agent meetings, draft meetings, operations, sports science, strength and conditioning to assist Poles — who played on the offensive line at Boston College and is friends with Matt Ryan — and the Bears.
Cunningham’s father, Louis, and his father’s first cousin, tennis legend Arthur Ashe, were influential in his life.
Louis Cunningham worked as a sport agent with the firm ProServ that represented NBA stars Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins before serving as the vice president of marketing for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the athletic director at Alabama A&M.
The elder Cunningham grew up like a little brother to Ashe, the only Black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. Ashe passed away in 1993. The younger Cunningham was young when Ashe passed, but his father a passed along lessons from the tennis legend.
Josh Williams, 49ers
Williams, 38, a precision route-runner as a wide receiver for the Columbia Lions of the Ivy League, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2010.
He played wide receiver for four seasons.
Williams didn’t immediately get into football. He worked as a business analyst of investment products for TD Ameritrade in New York, where he used data-driven insights and analytics to the marketplace.
During his time with the 49ers, he has been groomed for the job. Williams participated in the NFL’s front office and general manager accelerator program.
“Through a series of leadership development workshops and networking sessions led by renowned academic leaders and industry experts, candidates will leave with valuable insights and practical tools to support their journey to future leadership roles,” according to the 49ers. “The 49ers are proud to be represented at this month’s program by this year’s rising prospect, Josh Williams — recognized for his proven excellence and readiness to take on top roles within the NFL.”
Williams was a finalist last year for the Jacksonville job that ultimately went to James Gladstone.
Williams, a native of Santa Rosa, California, has been with the 49ers for 15 seasons.
After his time in business, Williams joined the 49ers as an assistant in scouting. In 2013, he earned his first promotion to pro personnel scout. By 2016, he was the 49ers’ scouting representative for National Football Scouting.
Williams was the 49ers’ Southeast area scout for four years.
“I really find the joy in my job when I’m able to play a small part helping these young men fulfill their dreams,” Williams said in an interview with 49ers.com. “I great to see these guys play at the college level and then find themselves in position to be successful at the pro level and provide for their families and then help us potentially win a championship.”
He was instrumental in the 49ers drafting wide receiver Deebo Samuel out of San Francisco in the 2019 draft.
“Tyshun Deebo Samuel,” Williams said. “Kind of the studying for Deebo started in 2017 for me. I remember seeing him in his first game of the season against North Carolina State and he took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown.”
James Liipfert, Texans
Liipfert, who played linebacker at Georgia Tech, was with the Patriots for nine seasons.
Liipfert runs the college scouting operation for fall scouting, all-star games, the NFL combine, pro days and the NFL draft for the Texans.
While with the Patriots, he was part of nine division titles, four AFC championships and two Super Bowl wins.
Liipfert, who is from Marshallville in Macon County, was a three-year letterman at Tech.
Andy Weidl, Steelers
Weidl joined the Steelers in his current role in May 2022. He has also worked with the Saints, Ravens and Eagles.
A native of Pittsburgh, Weidl started his career with the Steelers as a player personnel assistant in 1998 and 1999, working under Steelers greats Tom Donahoe and Bill Nunn.
He then spent 16 years as a scout with the Saints and Ravens before joining Howie Roseman’s personnel department with the Eagles.
He played at Villanova.
Mike Bradway, Chiefs
Bradway just finished his first season as the assistant general manager after serving four seasons as the Chiefs’ senior director of player personnel (2021-24). He joined the Chiefs in 2018 and was the assistant director of player personnel for three seasons.
Before joining the Chiefs, Bradway spent 10 seasons (2008-17) with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bradway is the son of longtime NFL personnel executive Terry Bradway, who is a personnel consultant with the Panthers.
Joe Douglas, Eagles
Douglas, the former general manager of the New York Jets, completed his interview with the Falcons on Friday, according to the team.
Douglas, 49, was the Jets’ general manager from 2019-24. He is currently a senior personnel director with the Eagles.
He also worked for the Ravens (2000-14), Bears (2015) and Eagles (2016-19).
The search
While conducting concurrent searches, the Falcons hired head coach Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 17, while continuing their search for a new general manager.
It must be noted that there were no other general manager openings, so there is no competition for the top candidates.
Also, the NFL rules made the coaching search take off after the firing of John Harbaugh by the Ravens. The Falcons also had competition from the Titans, who watched as Harbaugh and Stefanski canceled visits before going to Tennessee.
President and CEO Greg Beadles helped with compliance.
“It’s been great to have compliance and help in there with all the rules and what we can and cannot do and when we’ve got to do it, because there’s a lot, and (I’m) admittedly not an expert in that space,” Ryan said.
Stefanski will have an introductory news conference Tuesday, Jan. 27, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“(We) had to jump on head coach because of timing and league protocol,” Beadles said.
Under the Falcons’ new structure, the coach and general manager will report to Ryan.
“It’s important we land both these planes about at the same time because there has to be collaboration between these two individuals,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said recently.
“So, which one goes exactly first doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. You’ve got to take turns, you know, getting on the deck, if you will. But we want to make sure that vision-wise, compatibility-wise, mentally and all the issues, they work together.”
The Falcons want Stefanski and the new general manager to have a shared vision.
“They see the vision of football the same way, and they want to work together in a way that work is respectful; doesn’t mean (they’ll) always agree,” Blank said. “So, you want to kind of make those decisions that are fully connected.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
