New Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady wasted little time endorsing Keon Coleman, the 2024 second-round pick who had a difficult second season in the NFL.
Brady told reporters after his introductory news conference that the 22-year-old receiver ‘is going to be a Buffalo Bill’ in 2026.
‘I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing that happened to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,’ Brady told reporters Jan. 29, per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. ‘I was one of the ones that stood on the table for Keon Coleman, and I believe in Keon Coleman.’
Brady’s backing of Coleman comes after the Florida State product indirectly drew the ire of Bills owner Terry Pegula during a postseason news conference announcing the firing of Sean McDermott.
Pegula was seeking to absolve Brandon Beane – now Buffalo’s president of football operations and general manager – of blame for the Coleman selection and the receiver’s shortcomings across his NFL career to date.
‘The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,’ Pegula said. ‘I’m not saying 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, who felt strongly about the player.
‘He’s taking, for some reason, heat over it and not saying a word about it, but I’m here to tell you the true story.’
Many assumed Coleman would be on his last legs in Buffalo after Pegula’s comments. He was often a late-season scratch despite the Bills lacking a consistent receiver target across from Khalil Shakir.
Instead, Brady found himself uniquely positioned to absorb Pegula’s criticism – having been an internal hire who was involved in the Coleman selection, as he affirmed – and expressed confidence Coleman would bounce back after a ‘learning year’ in 2025.
‘He’s going to continue to grow, but the elements that we saw in the draft process – the confidence that I have in him and his ability – and 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,’ Brady said of Coleman, per ESPN.
Brady wasn’t the only prominent member of Buffalo’s organization to back Coleman. Star quarterback Josh Allen did during a news conference of his own.
‘I’m not going to give up on zero,’ Allen told reporters, referring to Coleman by his jersey number. ‘He’s got too much ability, and I will not give up on him. We’re going to work tirelessly, him and me, and as well as everybody else in this building, to make sure that whenever we step foot on the field that we’re going to find ways to win football games. And he’s going to be part of that.’
Coleman generated 38 catches for 404 catches and four touchdowns across 13 games (six starts) during the 2025 NFL season. He was a healthy scratch for four of the team’s final eight regular-season games and generated just two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.
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