Bears still hope for compensatory picks after meeting with Roger Goodell about Ian Cunningham situation

PHOENIX — Bears owner George McCaskey believes the organization held true to the spirit of the NFL’s diversity initiative and the letter of it in developing former executive Ian Cunningham, yet the league hasn’t awarded the team two compensatory third-round draft picks as part of the Falcons hiring Cunningham as general manager in January.

McCaskey, president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles traveled to New York to present their stance to commissioner Roger Goodell after the league ruled that Falcons president of football Matt Ryan is the team’s “primary football executive,” not Cunningham.

“We did what the league wants every member club to do,” McCaskey said Wednesday at the Arizona Biltmore. “We identified diverse talent, we recruited him, we created a position for him. … We allowed him to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes. We gave him supervisory duties. We gave him training.

“We made him ready to be a general manager in the NFL, and he’s getting his opportunity and we’re thrilled for him.”

McCaskey didn’t want to “speculate” on how receptive Goodell was, but believed the Bears “made a pretty compelling case.”

Cunningham said in February his team is in favor of the Bears getting compensatory picks, and Ryan said in an interview with CBS, while emphasizing his own lack of front-office experience, that, “I’ve got a lot to learn … Ian is in charge and he is driving this boat.”

McCaskey said there isn’t necessarily opposition within the NFL to the Bears receiving the picks, but the league is weighing the effect of setting a precedent.

Poles hired Cunningham, who is Black, to the newly formed position of assistant general manager in 2022, and Cunningham has consistently been a general manager candidate. He turned down an offer from the Cardinals in 2023.

The league announced a finalized draft order three weeks ago, but the Bears remain hopeful that still could be adjusted. If not, their push would be to receive the picks in the 2027 and ’28 drafts.

McCaskey also brushed aside Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s recent attack that the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for general manager, head coach and coordinator hirings, is discriminatory and unlawful.

“The Bears’ philosophy is we’re committed to diversity, and we will continue our efforts,” McCaskey said. “We’re very proud of what we did with Ian, and we’re very much looking forward to the next opportunity to do something similar.”