Matt Ryan: Ian Cunningham is a General Manager

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While the question of whether the Bears will or won't (they won't) get a pair of third-round compensatory picks as a result of the hiring of former assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham by the Falcons as General Manager has been resolved, many still wonder why the provision rewarding teams for developing minority candidates for high-level promotions didn't apply to Chicago. On Monday, we asked Falcons president of football Matt Ryan if he understands why the Bears didn't get the picks, given the clear impression that Ian Cunningham is the Atlanta G.M. "He is the G.M.," Ryan said. "He is the G.M. I’m learning — I mean you talk about things that are coming on your desk every day, management council things, different things like that, why they rule certain ways, why they don’t rule certain ways. I’m not experienced enough to give you a really credible answer on that at this point. I would say this, I think in every facet of the word, Ian’s a General Manager in this league." Obviously, it's not Ryan's call. It's the league's call. And it's still not clear why the league called it the way they did. Maybe, frankly, it was part of the apparent "no sudden moves" strategy aimed at avoiding the kind of assault on the Rooney Rule that Florida attorney general James Uthmeier started last week. " The environment has changed ," as Steelers owner Art Rooney II said last week. Perhaps that changed environment has prompted the NFL to change its approach to granting the picks where a new General Manager has someone else between him and the owner in the football operation.