1st off, he's not the decision making GM. He's the asst GM and the Bear had accomplished nothing except the worst record in Football when he was offered the Cards job in mid January. That has to do with his rep and interview acumen and certainly not the Bear resume at the time. The trade draft went down 2 months later and Poles had final say, not Cunningham.
It's his previous resume that had him in high regard. How does the 2nd part of your post contradict anything about how he'd be able to get a GM gig this year. Ultimately, the Bear are a 5-9 team that was hoping for better this year. How does that elevate him vs last year regardless of the trade etc. Sure we got Sweat but Mack is setting records. It's a wash with the salary. Does Claypool count against him or Poles? Are you being contrarian while agreeing with me that he can get a GM job for no reason other than to be a contrarian?
So do you think if the Bears had a terrible draft, were 2-12, and the young guys weren’t showing promise, he’d be in line for GM jobs this offseason?
Obviously, he’s the Assistant GM but people see him tied at the hip with Poles. Everyone knows he’s Poles main sounding board. He absolutely gets a ding for Claypool. You know he gave his opinion and if he was negative, I doubt Poles would have pulled the trigger.
My point is things change quickly in the NFL. Just because he had an offer last year doesn’t automatically mean he’s getting one this year.
By the way, Sweat is 27 and Mack is 32. Mack will be 33 in February. That makes a huge difference. Plus, Mack collected 6 of his sacks against an absolutely clueless Aidan O’Connell in his first NFL start.
He and Poles have done enough for Cunningham to get a chance in ‘24. I hope it happens. It’s still no lock.