The Chicago Bears announced Thursday they have promoted Jeff King to be the team’s new assistant general manager.

King will serve under Bears general manager Ryan Poles. The opening became available after former assistant general manager Ian Cunningham became the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager last month.

“We congratulate Jeff on his elevation within our football operations department,” Poles said in a statement. “Jeff has earned this promotion through his commitment to our team and his excellence within our operation, as well as the positive impact that he has created throughout our organization. We look forward to Jeff’s continued leadership and contributions as we work toward building a sustained winner.”

Thursday marked a long journey up through the Bears’ personnel department for King.

He originally joined the franchise as a scouting intern in 2015 after playing 108 games as a tight end in the NFL. He became a full-time pro scout in 2016 before former Bears general manager Ryan Pace elevated King to director of pro scouting in 2020.

King moved up to co-director of player personnel in 2022 and senior director of player personnel in 2024.

“I’m super lucky,” King said. “I’ve been here 12 years. That doesn’t happen. When I walked in here 12 years ago as an intern, I didn’t think it would go this far, but I’ve been very lucky and appreciative of this organization, because it is special.”

King and Poles will get to work quickly as the offseason progresses. They’ll travel next week to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine.