ALLEN PARK, Michigan -- Darrell Bevell started this endeavor less than a month ago with optimism and energy. He had to be himself, he said. It was the only way he believed this would work.

In the ways most figured, it has gone exactly as expected. The Detroit Lions are where they figured to be whether it was Bevell as the interim head coach or his former boss, Matt Patricia, still running things. Another losing season. Another playoff elimination.

But things have changed for the Lions since Patricia was fired on Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving. Bevell should get credit for that. Detroit plays with more passion now. There is a clear change in energy and vibe from the players, the coaches, the staff -- even the day-to-day dealings with the media.

This was Bevell's overall aim. It worked, even though at 1-2 the on-field results haven't come.

However, it’s been clear for weeks -- months, really -- the franchise needs a reset, if not a complete reboot. It needs fresh voices and an environmental shift, one Bevell seems to be starting. And keeping the team’s well-liked offensive coordinator-turned-interim head coach on a full-time basis isn’t going to be the solution Detroit needs.

Had Bevell been given more time initially -- say, if owner Sheila Ford Hamp had fired Patricia on the team's off-week in mid-October -- perhaps things would be different. There were 12 games left. The Lions, at 1-3, had more control of their future. Perhaps they would be playing meaningful games in December, the preseason goal of Patricia and fired GM Bob Quinn.

Of course, it’s possible Detroit still would have ended up in the same situation it is in now. One will never know, but Bevell has brought positive energy back to Detroit. He wanted his players to remember how to have fun playing football again. He accomplished that and deserves credit for it.

Bevell's 1-2 record so far will be attached to him, but it isn’t completely his doing.

The offense -- his specialty -- has scored 24 or more points in four straight games, doing some of it with an injured Matthew Stafford, an absent Kenny Golladay and a banged-up offensive line.

Bevell isn’t the one who built a defense that can’t stop anyone, even before injuries ravaged the team's secondary. That’s on Quinn, who consistently prioritized positions other than pass-rushers and speedy linebackers. This defensive scheme isn’t Bevell’s doing. Only so much can be changed midseason, so he’s largely been stuck with tweaks to a roster and a plan that got Patricia fired.

Promoting Bevell when the Lions did, after the trade deadline and when Detroit was in a precarious-at-best postseason position, was going to make a quick turnaround job next to impossible.

With the Lions officially eliminated from playoff contention, Bevell, his players and staff have two more games to audition for 2021, whether that’s with the Lions and their unknown future staff or elsewhere.

Bevell described it as such when he took over the job: five games to prove himself. However, he wouldn't assess his performance thus far.

“I think that’s going to be for others to say and for Sheila [Ford Hamp] and Steve [Hamp] and Rod [Wood] and the group that’s looking at that,” Bevell said. “I’m just doing the best I can to prepare these guys each and every week and let the play on the field speak for it.”

Whatever happens the last two weeks, though, Bevell did some good with Detroit. If nothing else, he showed other franchises he has potential to be a head coach if he’s allowed to bring in his own staff and his own philosophy from the start. It's not a guarantee, but at least it's a sample of the type of leader they’d be getting.