Normally, the only silver lining of a 3-13 or 4-12 NFL season is the promise of a high first-round draft pick. So if things continue at this bang-up pace that’s really excellent news for the St. Louis Rams.

Look, before Daniel Snyder really answers the question, “Why would I want to keep Mike Shanahan?” doesn’t a more salient question have to be asked first?

Like: Who else wants this mess?

Forget about Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher or any glitzy retread. Really, with all the non-football drama surrounding the organization, does Shanahan even want to stick around and finish the fifth and final year of his deal?

Anyone watching the Monday night fiasco saw a listless team and a crowd in a lifeless stadium streaming toward the exits at different junctures of the fourth quarter and should also realize this: Resurrecting Vince Lombardi and un-retiring Joe Montana would not change the fact that Washington is a bad team that can’t block anybody and can’t cover anybody.

Josh Wilson is not a starting cornerback in the NFL. He may not be a starting cornerback in the CFL. Tyler Polumbus is not a starting offensive lineman in the NFL. Chris Chester and Polumbus were not just outmuscled and outquicked; the right side of Washington’s line was physically emasculated Monday night. Trent Williams is the best Robert Griffin III has at the moment, but even he has looked as if he were sleepwalking the past two weeks.

A highly respected NFL mind recently told me, on condition of anonymity, that Washington probably has four genuine starters on defense — Brian Orakpo , Ryan Kerrigan, DeAngelo Hall and Barry Cofield .

After a solid 2012 campaign, Stephen Bowen has been a disappointment. Jarvis Jenkins shows signs of coming around, but it’s unclear whether any long-term investment is worth it. That Reed Doughty and Kedric Golston have managed to not just stick around this long after being taken in the sixth round of the 2006 draft but to actually start and carve out veteran niches for themselves is not merely a statement about their own resolve and heart; it’s an indictment of the players they have beat out to get those jobs and an indictment of the people that brought their potential replacements in.

Unfortunately, Jim Haslett is going to be scapegoated this season, whether Shanahan stays or not. Here’s just one reason why he shouldn’t be: His starting secondary at the moment (Doughty, Hall, Wilson and Brandon Meriweather ) makes a combined $5 million this season, just as much as one particular starting offensive lineman.

No creative thought or money went in to addressing the holes of this defense since Haslett was hired. It’s led to a predictable result: So many substandard players have led to so few wins.

On offense, Aldrick Robinson is said to “stretch the field,” meaning in NFL parlance he is a burner, a guy who has the speed to get behind any defensive back and haul in that long bomb from Griffin. You know what? So was Bob Hayes, but he could also catch.

If you’ve got Usain Bolt wheels but Braylon Edwards’s hands, who cares?