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	The Cardinals' offseason is not going as planned. First, they lose offensive coordinator Todd Haley (left) to the Chiefs. Then receiver Anquan Boldin (middle) demanded to be traded. Until Wednesday, the Cardinals weren't sure where they stood with their quarterback, Kurt Warner.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The dreaded Super Bowl losers' hangover wasn't supposed to apply this offseason.

While the Arizona Cardinals had suffered defeat in Super Bowl XLIII, they didn't feel like losers. They hadn't lost the Super Bowl so much as the Pittsburgh Steelers had won it.

"I'm just so extremely proud to be a part of this team," quarterback Kurt Warner told XTRA-910 AM radio a couple days later.

Those good feelings have been no match for the open sores and underlying aches now burdening the first-time NFC West champions, even with Warner finally under contract. The Cardinals have six months to recover and their division rivals also face significant hurdles, but we can safely say the Cardinals didn't script the first 10 plays of this offseason:

1. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley leaves to become head coach in Kansas City. Winning teams lose assistant coaches, but the Cardinals hoped to keep Haley another year. Haley and Warner had developed a winning rapport. The quarterback was playing the way Haley and head coach Ken Whisenhunt wanted him to play.

2. Whisenhunt fires defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and quarterbacks coach Jeff Rutledge. The changes are made with improvements in mind, but staff continuity takes a hit. The Cardinals will now have new coordinators on both sides of the ball.

3. Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin, reiterating his desire for a trade, says his relationship with the Cardinals can't be repaired.

"It takes more than, 'Well, we did you wrong and we'll pay you this,' " Boldin says. "It's not about the money. It was always about the principle. Guys being true to their word. I guess I was expected to uphold my end of the bargain, and it wasn't reciprocated."

A week later, Boldin's agent reportedly tells teams his client is available for trade.

4. Unable to reach a long-term agreement with linebacker Karlos Dansby, the Cardinals name him their franchise player for a second consecutive season. The price tag is high -- nearly $9.7 million -- and the move frees Warner to test the market once free agency begins.

5. Back to Boldin, who now says he might be amenable to a new contract with the Cardinals. But only if the team makes an offer right away. Wait, scratch that. No deadline.

5. Warner's contract negotiations bottom out as free agency begins. Warner becomes the first Pro Bowl quarterback to hit free agency since … well, since Kerry Collins, also this year. With the Denver Broncos entertaining trade talks involving Jay Cutler, it's definitely a strange year for Pro Bowl passers.

6. While the Rams and Seahawks line up visits with free agency's top center and receiver, respectively, the Cardinals watch one of their better young players, defensive end Antonio Smith, sign with the Houston Texans.

7. Warner, less than a month removed from being "so extremely proud to be a part of this team", pays a free-agent visit to the San Francisco 49ers. You know this picture isn't right when Warner, generally one of the most accessible players in the NFL, declines to speak with reporters through the window of an SUV.

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	Kurt Warner had a strong 2008 with the Cardinals.

8. While the Cardinals are deciding how to handle Warner's unusual public counter-offer, running back Edgerrin James informs general manager Rod Graves -- again -- that he wants his release as soon as possible. James is reportedly pleading this time. Though James was a key part of the Cardinals' run through the playoffs, he wants to move up the all-time rushing list wearing another uniform.

9. The Arizona Republic cites a source denying claims that the Cardinals withheld Super Bowl bonus checks from departing assistant coaches.

10. Meanwhile, Warner's agent tells the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat the 49ers remain in play for his client.

"Oh, yeah," Mark Bartelstein says. "We're going to shake our way through this thing and see what happens."

Some Cardinals fans have seen enough.

Clu from Phoenix writes: Ok, what the hell. The Cardinals are tearing my heart by acting like the same ol' Carindals. Warner, great player and team leader. Why are they low-balling him? Are they trying to prove a point? Is this stand suppose dto say something to Q?

AHHHHHHH! I just want them to be a solid football team for like 3 years.

AHHHHHH! Antonio Smith, solid player, made huge plays for us all year. We are gonna replace him with Calais Camp
bell. I know he was a rookie, but he did absolutely nothing all year. Smith said he wanted to stay with the Cardinals. How hard is it sign somebody who wants to stay? I know the Texans threw way too much money at him, but still, you should have signed him before free agency.

AHHHHHH! Thanks for letting me vent a little. Sando I would like to hear your thoughts on how and why the Cardinals are just kinda letting this team fall apart. Again.

Mackay from Pleasant Grove, Utah, writes: Sando, I want your honest opinion here, don't you feel like the Cardinals are totally messing everything up this FA period? Both ways! Not only are they letting great players walk out the door, great players that they need are walking by without the Cardinals even glancing in their direction. It's a joke! No wonder the Cardinals have such a hard time succeeding. They can't even re-sign their star quarterback who has requested to stay in Arizona. What a joke.

Tony from Springfield, Ill., writes: The Cards have their offensive pieces for the most part. If you dont have Kurt then I think the effectivness of that offense drops 30 percent. Pay the man, he deserves it. I just dont want to see management blow the potential this team has and shut the door on any kind of meaningful improvment and lasting success. Like they have done over and over in the past. We just went to the Super Bowl this year -- FIRST TIME -- what is that worth? To us fans it means a hell of a lot more.

Re-signing Warner -- the sides reached agreement after this blog entry was first published -- should alleviate much of the angst. Bringing back the most prolific passer in franchise history made too much sense not to happen, even if you buy into the increasingly convenient vision of the same old Cardinals. The cost of divorce appeared prohibitive for both sides.

Recent history says the Cardinals will be vulnerable even with Warner returning. They probably won't pick up where they left off last season because that's now how it works in the NFL. Arizona will start fresh, along with everyone else.

We know this: Complacency won't be a problem for Arizona if this offseason continues on its current course. Too much has changed.