The first day of 2017 should have been the worst day of 2017 for the Washington Redskins, what with Kirk Cousins’s still-baffling fourth-quarter interception sealing a season-ending loss to the New York Giants that kept Washington from a second straight playoff appearance. Hits the pit of the stomach even now, doesn’t it?

But now we have a deservedly fired defensive coordinator replaced by one of his understudies, a rising star of an offensive coordinator gone to run his own franchise, replaced by one of his understudies, and an inescapable question: If you’re an established NFL assistant, and you have another job opportunity — any other opportunity — why on earth would you take a job here?

Washington’s new defensive coordinator is a 50-year-old fellow named Greg Manusky who has failed as a defensive coordinator three times previously. Its new offensive coordinator is a 60-year-old gentleman named Matt Cavanaugh whose last stint in such an NFL position was 13 years ago.

No doubt we’ll get to know more about them in coming weeks and months, but the easy read would be Manusky will be a step up from the disastrous Joe Barry and Cavanaugh will be a step down from ascendant Sean McVay, because the 30-year-old who steered an effective unit just became the youngest head coach in league history, taking over the Los Angeles Rams.

[What Greg Manusky’s Redskins defense might look like]

1 of 84 Full Screen Autoplay Close Week 16: Washington 41, Bears 21 at Soldier Field Week 15: Carolina Panthers 26, Redskins 15 at FedEx Field. Week 14: Redskins 27, Philadelphia Eagles 22, at Lincoln Financial Field. Week 13: Arizona Cardinals 31, Redskins at University of Phoenix Staduim Week 12: Dallas Cowboys 31, Redskins 26 at AT&T Stadium Week 11: Washington 42, Green Bay 24, at FedEx Field. Week 9: Washington 26, Minnesota Vikings 20 at FedEx Field. Week 8: Washington 27, Bengals 27, at Wembley Field in London. Week 7: Washington 17, Lions 20 at Ford Field. Week 6: Washington 27, Eagles 20 at FedEx Field. Week 5: Washington 16, Ravens 10 in Baltimore. Week 4: Washington 31, Cleveland Browns 20 at FedEx Field. Week 3: Washington 29, NY Giants 27 at MetLife Stadium. Skip Ad × Photos from the Redskins’ season View Photos Washington went 8-7-1 and missed the playoffs by a whisker. Here’s a look at the standout images from 2016. Caption Washington went 8-7-1 and missed the playoffs by a whisker. Here’s a look at the standout images from 2016. Reed celebrated his touchdown, which he hoped would set the stage for a dramatic Washington win. Nick Wass/Associated Press Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

Every opening, regardless of the circumstance, should be an opportunity to improve. What’s telling, though, is that with a chance to make exciting, dynamic hires, the Redskins promoted two coaches already on their staff — in the case of Manusky, more than two weeks after the job became available.

The merits and failings of each should and will be dissected. But those strengths and weaknesses are far outweighed by the limits of the situations into which they step, and the inherently unstable ground beneath Redskins Park. Coach Jay Gruden is entering the fourth season of a five-year deal. To any strong job candidate, that’s an easily understood situation: a possible lame duck.

If Washington believes in its head coach — the eighth of owner Dan Snyder’s tenure — it will offer him an extension after this season. But if it doesn’t, he’ll be fired before he’ll be allowed to coach in his final year. At this point, ownership can’t be all-in on a coach who is 21-26-1 in three seasons and who has bungled in-game situations regularly enough to cause concern. Thus, job candidates can’t look at that coach and say, “I want to work there and I want to work for him.” Why even turn off the ignition on the moving van?

Gus Bradley could have come here. But the former Jacksonville head coach, who made his reputation as the defensive coordinator in Seattle, chose instead to take a job with the Los Angeles Chargers. Shouldn’t that franchise be the picture of instability, what with a move north to an unfinished stadium and a wary, if not completely apathetic, new fan base? Yet the Chargers were somehow more appealing than Washington.

Wade Phillips, who was mystifyingly passed over in favor of Barry two years ago, found McVay and the Rams more attractive than even an interview in Washington.

The list of actual and would-be candidates is long, and each man has an individual set of reasons or circumstances for taking a position elsewhere. But the optics for Washington are terrible. This ceased being a model NFL franchise long ago. That part isn’t news. What’s striking, though, is that the industry looks at the situation here and runs away from the challenge, not toward it. It screams, to any assistant coach: Don’t buy. Rent.

[Kirk Cousins was ‘taking notes’ as Kyle Shanahan’s Falcons routed the Packers]

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

The optics grow worse, too, when Cousins shows up in person in Atlanta for the NFC championship game and says on social media that he is “taking notes” on Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan, “watching two of the best in the world do what they do.” A 3-year-old could connect the following dots with a fat burgundy crayon. Ryan is coached by Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is two things: Cousins’s first pro offensive coordinator, back in his days with Washington and the apparent next coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Cousins is guaranteed to play in Washington just one more season, and wouldn’t Shanahan just love to take a guy with whom he already has worked to the Bay?

The fact that neither the head coach nor the quarterback are guaranteed to be here in 2018 absolutely contributes to the air of uncertainty about Washington as an employer. Any savvy and self-assured job candidate could call coaches who have worked here, could study both the 20-year history of the franchise and its current situation, and come to the reasonable conclusion that this is one of the least desirable employers in the league.

Maybe Manusky and Cavanaugh are perfect fits. Maybe continuity, after back-to-back years of 9-7 and 8-7-1, is what this franchise most needs. Maybe those two coordinators help Gruden get his extension, help put the franchise in position to confidently sign Cousins to remain here long-term, and January 2017 looks like a month in which Washington moved forward, not back.

But believing all of those things puts a lot of faith in an organization that — and the stats must be repeated — hasn’t made consecutive trips to the postseason in 25 years and has just one playoff victory in 17 years. Washington must hope Manusky and Cavanaugh work out, because the franchise has put itself in a position in which it would be difficult to hire anyone else.