An already questionable search process for Dallas’ new city manager has unfortunately lapsed into all-out dysfunction.

Dallas City Council, it’s the holidays. Please take a breath of fresh pine air and work out this search in a new spirit of cooperation before nobody ends up wanting the job.

Given what’s already happened, chances of that are dwindling. Three of the five semifinalists already pulled out of the running late last week.

There was trouble from the start with the resignation of former City Manager T.C. Broadnax in February. He said a majority of the council lost faith in his leadership, but the timing of his “involuntary resignation” rightly raised eyebrows. Mayor Eric Johnson questioned whether his allies on the council helped him orchestrate the move so he could take a job as Austin city manager and also collect on a hefty severance.

The City Council named Broadnax’s top aide, Assistant City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, as interim manager just days after his resignation amid reservations of some of the council. Since then, the table has seemed set for her to assume the permanent role, underscored by the lack of pushback Tolbert’s received as she’s implemented sweeping changes at City Hall during her interim role. We can’t help but wonder about the chill that’s had on other potential candidates.

Another wrinkle came when the outside search firm hired to vet candidates, Baker Tilly, circulated a draft brochure advertising for the job that featured a photo of the Houston skyline. That was in late August, and since then some council members have blamed both the firm and an ad hoc search committee for moving too slowly and without transparency to the full council.

Tensions erupted this month when three council members — Paula Blackmon, Gay Donnell Willis and Jaynie Schultz — tried to wrest control from the committee and hold an emergency meeting of the full council. That flopped when only two other council members showed up at the Dec. 16 meeting, not enough for a quorum.

Blackmon told us she expected a quorum, but “it became clear to me that some phone calls were made to pressure people not to show up, and that is their decision.” Another bad look for the city.

A meeting the same day of the ad hoc committee weirdly ended up in executive session for nearly three hours. Members emerged with a plan to virtually interview the semifinalists Monday, the day before Christmas Eve. That seems like a big ask of the candidates and a crummy process. Candidates deserve an in-person interview.

It’s been hard to keep track of who’s on whose team in this mayhem. There are clearly two sides on the council: those who want Tolbert to get the job, and those who aren’t yet sold on her and want a more extensive search.

Council member Cara Mendelsohn, a member of the ad hoc committee, told us any grievances with the search should have been handled privately and that council members not on the committee have wrongly injected themselves in what is a serious effort.

“This unprofessional behavior risks scaring off strong candidates and reflects poorly on our city,” she said.

That may well happen even more than it has and, at this point, who could blame them? From the start to now, the city has hardly put its best foot forward. We urge the City Council to embrace the quiet of the season, take a moment and begin again in earnest in the New Year.

Rushing this process serves no one and least of all the residents of Dallas.

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The Dallas Cowboys are trying to close the 2024 season on a positive note and have successfully done so at the moment with three wins in their last four games. Although they won’t make the postseason, it is good to see them showing heart and resolve with all the injuries and misfortune they’ve had. However, once these season ends in January, the page will turn to offseason activities, which includes free agency.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones has already mentioned that the team will have a tight offseason when it comes to spending. While that’s not surprising in the slightest with how things go in Dallas, it also puts the future of some of the top guys on the roster in question. One in particular, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, is a big one to monitor.

Back during the summer, Odighizuwa made it clear what he wanted to do was sign an extension with Dallas while having his best NFL season to date. The former third-round pick has certainly done the best season-to-date thing.

So far this season, Odighizuwa has already tied a career-high with four sacks and set a career mark with 22 quarterback hits (nine more than any other season). He’s also equaled his best year with 31 hurries and has set a new career-high in pressures with 51. His 79.0 pass-rush grade ranks ninth for all defensive lineman in 2024 per Pro Football Focus.

This is great for Odighizuwa because he has certainly upped his value. With what he’s done this season, and the steady progression in his play, Odighizuwa is possibly looking at commanding a deal around $5 to $7 million annually. If he finishes strong in the last three games, he could be looking at double-digit numbers per year. As good as it is for him, it may be the opposite for Dallas.

The Cowboys do like to keep the players that they draft and develop into star or contributing players. Unfortunately, especially when it comes to Stephen Jones specifically, it always comes back to the salary cap, or at least it’s used a reason not to pay guys big dollars. The Cowboys put themselves in these positions by waiting to pay players, much like they did with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Those deals could have and should have been done earlier to put the Cowboys in a better position as far as the cap. There are plenty of ways to manipulate the cap, but Dallas tends to stand firm on being frugal.

If Odighizuwa is to hit the market, teams will come calling. Although he’s a bit undersized at 280 pounds, Odighizuwa uses his wrestling background to get tremendous leverage and drive much bigger offensive linemen into the backfield. He’s solid against the run, and he helps keep linebackers clean, and teams that see themselves as contenders will be willing to pay him for those services and pay him well.

It would behoove the Cowboys to value defensive tackles as a high priority for once during the offseason and bring Odighizuwa back. However, with the way Dallas handles contracts, don’t be surprised if the 2024 campaign is his last with the Cowboys.

The future of the Dallas Cowboys has been under discussion a lot lately considering that they are basically just playing out the final games in anticipation of the 2025 offseason. The team does have an miniscule chance of securing a playoff berth for 2024, but an unbelievable number of things would have to go in the Cowboys’ favor for that to happen. It ain’t happening.

So as we look at the 2025 offseason, the biggest issue is a contract extension for Micah Parsons. Everyone knows the fiasco that was getting CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott signed, so the conversation naturally became how would the Cowboys handle Micah Parsons’ contract extension?

Somewhere along the way, the idea of a Parsons’ trade entered the conversation. Then, when Stephen Jones was asked about it, he gave a squishy answer.

“Obviously we’re totally all in on Dak and CeeDee,” Jones told NFL.com, “but after that, then you still shape things, including Micah. But Micah’s a great player. You don’t do well in this league letting guys like Micah, usually, leave the house.”

That word “usually” is what sent out shockwaves. Jerry Jones quickly stepped in and said they have not been contemplating trading Parsons. Still, the idea of restocking the roster with young draft picks acquired in a Parsons’ trade had a bit of viability.

So we asked you if you would even consider the idea. And a 59% majority said they would.

Full disclosure. this was a surprising result to me. I am in the camp of never trading a generational talent, and Parsons can safely be considered in the argument of best defender in the league, and could even stack up in the best overall players in the NFL list. I would not let that kind of talent leave.

Now, the question wasn’t do you want to trade Parsons, but would you consider it. Given the bounty of picks that would come along with any type of trade, the idea of considering it does have its own merits. We’ll just have to see how the offseason plays out.

As for the right now, confidence in the direction of the franchise is still very low. Only 11% have the belief.

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As for this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Well, Dallas heads into the game as 3.5-point underdogs at home according to FanDuel. Most NFL fans believe in the Bucs to cover that line.

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