A new Falcons era begins with confidence, but will this one be different?

A president of football who led the Falcons to their most successful era and has returned to set things right, a rare mix of intelligence, drive and humility. A head coach who managed to twice earn NFL coach-of-the-year honors at one of the few organizations more discombobulated than this one.

And, presented to the media Tuesday, a general manager who has learned from and contributed to two of the league’s most well-run franchises and helped resurrect a third.

This Falcons leadership trio takes over a roster that has enough talent to have beaten two 12-win teams this season (Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams).

Even for a franchise with caked-on misery, it’s hard not to feel like things are turning a corner, right?

Hired from the Chicago Bears, where he served as assistant GM following successful runs with the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, Ian Cunningham looked and sounded like someone who knows what he’s doing and can do it well.

Three things he said Tuesday at his news conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that were appealing:

1) He is a proponent of accumulating draft picks rather than spending them to move up, the latter of which was former GM Terry Fontenot’s pattern.

“You can’t have enough draft picks,” Cunningham said.

2) He believes in managing the salary cap with the long-term future in mind.

“I never want to mortgage the future for the now,” he said. “You’ve got to be intentional and thoughtful in that approach.”

3) He wants a team that is smart, physical and tough, which is a relief to fans who were afraid he can’t help but fall for players who are unintelligent, gentle and soft.

Besides that, Ravens executive Ozzie Newsome and Bears GM Ryan Poles raved about Cunningham in a profile written by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons beat reporter Darryl Ledbetter.

It might be difficult to overstate the value accrued from working with and learning from Newsome, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and Poles.

That is an interesting contrast to his predecessor, Fontenot, who spent his whole career with the New Orleans Saints before he was hired as the Falcons GM after the 2020 season.

“I guess you could equate to if a student spread 16 to 17 years of education between, let’s say, Virginia, Duke and Princeton,” said Al Groh, Cunningham’s coach at Virginia.

As you might expect, Groh also spoke highly of his former offensive lineman.

“Ian was consistently a high-energy guy,” Groh said. “Once he had his target, whether that was a guy to block or a goal to reach in the weight room or whatever, he was committed to reaching that target.”

If this matters to you, Cunningham also seems like a good guy, easy to root for. In his opening remarks, he paid homage to mentors. He got choked up addressing his children and his wife, Justine. Cunningham even has local roots. Having spent part of his childhood in Roswell, he cheered for the Chris Chandler/Jamal Anderson Falcons.

“This is pretty special,” he said.

It all sounds great.

But it also sounds like the start of every regime.

Can they be entrusted with the hopes of Falcons fans, who have endured eight consecutive losing seasons, all without a playoff berth?

Or is this just the newest way that the rug gets pulled out from beneath them?

Matt Ryan has never been a football executive before. Kevin Stefanski was 8-26 in his last two years with the Browns. Until now, Cunningham has never sat in the GM chair and called the shots.

No one knows, not even Ryan. He was posed a question about this. He feels great about his hires. But is there a part of him that, like the fan base, is just hoping this works out?

“Yes,” Ryan said, to laughs.

He expanded.

“Of course, you hope decisions that you make work out,” Ryan said. “But that’s what your process and that’s what all of your work during that time is for, is to try and make the best decisions with the information that you have available to you.”

He cited the help that he received from the search committee in the form of feedback and opinions — owner Arthur Blank, team president and CEO Greg Beadles, Stefanski and Josh Blank, Blank’s son and the executive vice president with AMB Sports and Entertainment — as well as the background reference work done on candidates.

“So, yeah, you’re hopeful,” Ryan said. “I mean, everybody’s hopeful. But I’m also very confident in the people that we brought into this building.”

A new chapter begins.

There is this: As competitive as it gets, Ryan isn’t taking over this operation just for it to continue its careening course. Stefanski has something to prove after his nosedive with the Browns. And the new GM has waited a career for this opportunity.