"And if they do call, why not say, 'That's not for discussion. What else do you want?"'

A Broncos spokesman told The AP on Sunday that neither McDaniels, newly promoted general manager Brian Xanders nor team owner Pat Bowlen would have anything else to say publicly about the matter.

The organization felt it had adequately addressed the issue by talking to The Post and didn't want to perpetuate the story, team spokesman Patrick Smyth said.

It's certain however, to have long, long legs in this football-crazed state where John Elway won two Super Bowls in the 1990s and where Cutler raised eyebrows last season by comparing his arm strength to that of Elway in his prime.

It was all anybody wanted to debate on sports talk radio Sunday, not the free agency signing of seven-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins.

Some blamed the 25-year-old Cutler's immaturity for the controversy, others pinned the blame on McDaniels' naivete for not realizing his talented, young quarterback would react the way he did.

Cutler, who has three years left on his six-year deal he signed as a rookie, is by far the best player McDaniels inherited from Mike Shanahan, who had built a terrific young offense around the quarterback even while neglecting a defense that more than anything probably led to his firing.

Cutler told The Post he feels his relationship with McDaniels has "taken a few steps backward."

"I don't know if the relationship is irreconcilably broken," Cook said. "But I know that as much as he's meant to the organization and that ballclub, if there were attempts to trade him, then I think Jay Cutler is 100 percent right to be more than just a little bit miffed."

Cutler is 17-20 with no playoff appearances since supplanting Jake Plummer late in the 2006 season, and he's known for his petulant, moody personality in his dealings with teammates and the media alike.

"There's an awful lot of smoke for there not to be a fire," Cook said. "If they were in fact trying to trade Jay Cutler, then I think that's a situation that's going to cause a very serious problem for the organization.

"If they weren't, maybe he forgives and forgets. But if they were, that's going to be a very difficult situation to repair."