Orchard Park, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula created quite a stir among fans last week when he revealed general manager Brandon Beane wouldn’t have selected receiver Keon Coleman at pick No. 33 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff.”
Which coach was pounding the table for Coleman? That just happens to be the brand new Bills head coach, Joe Brady.
“I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing to happen to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said. “I was one of the ones who stood on the table for Keon Coleman, and I believe in Keon Coleman. Keon Coleman is going to be a Buffalo Bill.”
The Bills introduced Brady as head coach at a large press conference on Thursday inside the team’s weight room, where a stage was constructed between two monstrous projectors. The 36-year-old is replacing longtime coach Sean McDermott, who was fired last week after another disappointing playoff loss.
Brady and Beane answered questions for nearly an hour with a large portion of the Bills’ staff, including Pegula, in attendance. Brady then held court with reporters for a secondary session and when the topic of Coleman came up, Brady was quick stand up for the receiver who struggled with off-the-field issues in 2025.
“It was a learning year for Keon,” Brady said. “I know it’s something that not everybody wants to go through, but we had to put the team first in a lot of the elements. He’s going to continue to grow. The elements that we saw in the draft process, the confidence that I have in him and his ability, as long as he’s handling what he needs to do off the field, I have no doubt that he’s going to be successful on the field.”
Coleman was late for several meetings and was benched on two separate occasions during the season. He was active in the divisional round game against the Denver Broncos after a slew of injuries hit the receiver room. Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers tore their ACLs in the Wild Card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Coleman only had one catch against the Broncos, but it went for a touchdown. He had to fight through traffic and dive for the goal line to help get the Bills back into the game after turnovers put them in a deep second-half hole.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen spoke shortly before Brady in the Bills’ media room and was asked about whether he’ll be able to come back from the turmoil of Pegula’s comments and a disappointing sophomore season.
Allen said it’s not a question of if… “He will come back from that.”
“I’m not going to give up on (number) zero. He’s got too much ability,” Allen said. “We’re gonna work tirelessly, him and me, and so will everybody else in this building, to make sure that whenever we step foot on the field, that we’re gonna find ways to win football games.”
One of the themes of the day at Brady’s press conference was “alignment.” Beane made sure to mention in his opening statement that Brady’s vision for the organization will help align all departments.
But if Brady was pushing for Coleman and Beane made the pick – even if it wasn’t the top player on his board – should fans be concerned about a lack of alignment?
Brady doesn’t think so.
“It may not end up working out with certain people,” Brady said. “I don’t believe that’s going to be the case with Keon, but if those things happen … I think it’s important to go back in your system and say hey, in some of those situations, where did we go wrong? … The alignment means our vision of what we’re looking for is not changing, whether it worked or not.”
Brady said there may still need to be some hard conversations with Coleman based on Pegula’s comments. But there’s no question the Bills are moving forward with the young receiver, who has shown brief glimpses of playmaking ability.
“His best days are ahead of him,” Brady said. “Keon is not done being a Buffalo Bill and we have a vision for him continuing to grow in this offense. I fully believe that.”
