The offseason has been awfully ugly for the Denver Broncos. Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler demanded a trade and got one. Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall is currently trying to follow Cutler's lead out of Colorado.

So Denver's offense, the only thing that made the Broncos even respectable last season, is now going to rely on quarterback Kyle Orton. The defense, which was abysmal last year (29th in yards allowed with 374.6 per game and 30th in points allowed at 28.0 per game), doesn't appear ready to make a giant leap forward since its only major free agent addition was 35-year-old safety Brian Dawkins.

There is, in short, a cloud of frustration, dread and disappointment hanging over the Broncos. They are now appearing in the same sentences as

"Oakland Raiders," "Detroit Lions" and "laughingstock." And no, you have not accidentally started reading the Denver Post. The Broncos' freefall is piloted by a former New Englander, Josh McDaniels, who has inspired a blog - firejoshmcdanielsnow.com - after just five months on the job and without ever coaching a game for the Broncos.

By most accounts, McDaniels's downfall in his short stint as Denver's coach is his arrogance, which can be traced back to New England. And perhaps it was that arrogance that cost the Patriots perfection, but more on that later.

For all of Bill Belichick's great characteristics - intelligence, creativity, diligence - humility is not one of them. His arrogance is clear when he belittles reporters he doesn't personally like or who ask a question he deems inappropriate. It was painfully clear when, despite a direct memo from the league office, he continued to tape opposing coaches on the sideline. That piece of haughtiness cost him $500,000 and cost the Patriots a first-round draft pick, arguably one of the stiffest penalties ever dished out by the NFL.

McDaniels has shown some major flashes of a similar arrogance in Denver. The most significant case was in the Cutler fiasco.

Rocky start

Cutler was upset that McDaniels expressed interest in trading for Matt Cassel, who clearly thrived under McDaniels in New England last year. Now, Cutler is known as a prima donna, and he probably shouldn't have gotten so riled up about McDaniels wanting to be reunited with Cassel. But chances are if McDaniels had swallowed some pride, apologized to Cutler (even if an apology wasn't really necessary) and assured Cutler that he was Denver's leader, the Broncos would have their franchise signal caller, not Orton.

In a less-publicized incident, McDaniels said he had less than 100 players on his draft board. Most draft boards have four or five times that amount. Most coaches and personnel men understand that there are many hidden gems out there and that they need to do homework on everyone in order to be prepared. But apparently not the 32-year-old McDaniels, who can work with a shorter list than veteran GMs and had the draft all figured out before it even happened, since all 10 of Denver's choices were among the 30 players who did pre-draft workouts for the Broncos.

Marshall is a different story. The wide receiver has been involved in 13 incidents with the police since 2004 and is walking problem. His trade demand is really about money and being a knucklehead. But you have to figure that if the Broncos were in a good place, he wouldn't be demanding to leave town.

An ego is born

McDaniels was surely born with a streak of arrogance - no professional athlete or coach exists who doesn't have some of it in him or her. But that arrogance likely grew during his time under Belichick. Why wouldn't you model yourself after one of the greatest coaches the game has known?

So, how did it cost the Patriots perfection? Go back to the play calling in Super Bowl XLII. The Giants were killing Tom Brady with the pass rush, yet McDaniels kept calling for five- and seven-step dropback passes. He should have been calling screen passes and draws to slow down that rush. Instead, it seemed like he was thinking, "We just set the NFL records for points and touchdowns in a season, I don't care what the Giants are going, we're doing what we do!"

Of course this is speculation, but it sure felt like arrogant play calling to me.

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