So we have to be great marketers (to pass the interview and get hired) and great storytellers (to advocate for ourselves when we've created tech debt), but the thing we _don't_ have to be is coders who are good enough to create quality code in the same amount of time we can create crap code in? Is that right?

Here's the thing: coders don't suddenly develop the ability to create clean code just because you're stopping the train to let them clean up. They need to practice. Their practice will be most effective if it's on the easier end of the scale vs. the difficult end of the scale (to start). By forcing them to clean up code that's already gone wrong without breaking anything as their starting place, you lower their chances of success. Let them practice writing clean code where it's easy (greenfield parts of the project), and they will get FASTER at writing clean code. Once they can write clean code in a greenfield area, THEN put them in the areas that are difficult to work with.