Your guest Fixer is Garey G. Ris:  Quarterback John Elway and the Denver Broncos suffered humiliating Super Bowl losses in 1987, 1988 and 1990. More often than not, Elway played on playoff-caliber teams in the Mile High City, but as his career started winding down, it looked as if he would never win a Super Bowl ring. Then Denver hired Mike Shanahan as head coach and Elway won back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999 and promptly retired. Shanahan and the Broncos havent returned to the Super Bowl since, leading to his firing Tuesday after 14 seasons with the team and with three years remaining on his contract. Owner Pat Bowlen had been loyal to Shanahan, saying he had a lifetime contract, but an embarrassing three-game losing streak to end the season killed Denvers playoff hopes and sealed Shanahans exit, the NFLs fourth to be announced in the last two days. (The others are Detroits Rod Marinelli, Clevelands Romeo Crennel and the New York Jets Eric Mangini.)  Mike Shanahan had seemed to be a near-permanent fixture on Denver’s sports landscape before the Broncos coughed away a playoff spot this month.  Shanahan will coach again. Hes too good not to be given another opportunity before long. But what direction will the Broncos take after three straight nonplayoff seasons? That direction could be down before it is up, rather than sideways, as it is now, as it has been for some time, Bernie Lincicome writes in the Rocky Mountain News. But what is absolutely true is there is no savior for the Broncos waiting out there to do what Shanahan could not. Not Bill Cowher. Not Brian Billick. Not Steve Mariucci. None of the usual suspects, though if Jon Gruden is finished in Tampa, I say, come on out.  The Denver Posts Mark Kiszla says the Broncos need solid free-agent signings, not a top-flight coach, if theyre to improve quickly. Too many good people, from former general manager Ted Sundquist to veteran safety John Lynch and cornerback Domonique Foxworth, all men who dared to disagree with Shanahan or challenge his authority, were either sent packing or walked out on the coach, Kiszla writes. More important than the absence of their contributions was the problem the departures of Sundquist, Lynch and Foxworth so clearly illustrated. An organization that sees its power shrinking tends to become more insular. Shanahan became an island unto himself.  ESPNs Pat Forde called Shanahans firing inevitable. The post-Elway Broncos have been a blur of fired defensive coordinators, failed free-agent acquisitions, boom-or-bust drafts, spotty special teams, late-season swoons and — on those occasions when they did make the playoffs — postseason pratfalls, Forde writes. Shanahan has continually churned the roster without changing the bottom line. The magic is long gone, and it will be up to someone else to recapture it.  Neill Woelk of the Boulder Daily Camera says that instead of going after the usual suspects, Denver should hire Air Force coach Troy Calhoun. As for Shanahan, hed make a good fit in Dallas, says Jason Cole at Yahoo Sports.  Mike Holmgren held his final news conference Tuesday as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. His final season ended with a disastrous 4-12 record — injuries played a part of Seattles downfall — but someone could snap up Holmgren quickly if hes interested in another job. Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer names teams that would love a coach of this caliber, including the Jets, Broncos and Dallas Cowboys. But hes not done yet. What about the Oakland Raiders? Detroit Lions? Cleveland Browns? Kansas City Chiefs? Thiel asks. All in varying states of mess, all with reasons to make Holmgren, to use his phrase, the king of everything. Must be tempting. Right now, he is the king of nothing, deferring to his queen after turning in his keys while waiting for the name on his parking spot to disappear.  The Washington Redskins last appeared in and won a Super Bowl in 1992. In his decade as owner, Dan Snyder has spent recklessly on free agents and made numerous coaching changes, resulting in only three playoff appearances. The problem with the Washington Redskins is really pretty simple: the wrong questions are being asked each and every year, John Feinstein writes for the Washington Post. The other problem is this: you can’t fire the owner. In today’s world of professional sports everything about a team starts with the owner. He not only handles the purse strings but has final say on critical decisions involving everything from on- and off-the-field hirings to fan relations.  When USC meets Penn State Thursday in the Rose Bowl, a good number of Trojans and Nittany Lions will wear eye black, even though many say it doesnt help, that its only for show. Ah, ha. Figured as much, didn’t you? Jeff Miller writes in the Orange County Register. Wacky college kids and their Atari game-playing fads. Really, defensive end Kyle Moore said, its more like face paint. Clinique for cornerbacks? Linebackers in LOreal? Who coaches these guys, Pete Carroll or Mary Kay?  Brett Sodetzs parents must think hes the next Tiger Woods. Why else would they have spent $20,000 in the past year to improve the golf game of a boy who only turns 7 Thursday? Maybe its because Brett has won more than 40 trophies, including the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship last summer, Juliet Macur writes in the New York Times.  Columnists write outlandish things all the time. Often theyre too quick making a pronouncement thats nowhere near reality. Thanks to Real Clear Sports, we can read the 10 most erroneous columns from 2008. Tampa Bay Rays? Theyre not going to the playoffs, the New York Posts Mike Vaccaro wrote. He also wrote that the Mets wouldnt blow their NL East lead. Wrong and wrong, Mike. Read the list here.  As the clock ticks down on 2008, Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star looks back at the year in sports and ahead to 2009, a year in which tight economic times might be a boon for sports.  – Tip of the Fix cap to readers Robbie Gillies and Don Hartline.  Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix.
Why the once seemingly bulletproof Mike Shanahan got his walking papers in Denver. Plus: Cosmetic eye black at the Rose Bowl; 2008's most erroneous sports columns; and more.