One of the most bizarre moments from the Buffalo Bills press conference following the firing of Sean McDermott was when team owner Terry Regular interrupted a question for Brandon Beane to throw his coaching staff and one of his young players under the bus.
A reporter asked Brandon Beane a question about the lack of talent surrounding Josh Allen and before Beane could answer, Pegula interrupted to address the “Keon Coleman situation” by saying it was the coaching staff that pushed to draft Coleman in the second round of the 2024 Draft and Beane was being a “team player.”
“I’ll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but [Coleman] wasn’t his next choice.
Here’s the entire exchange:
Coleman was selected by Buffalo with the 33rd overall pick in 2024 but has scuffled through two disappointing seasons with the Bills. The former Florida State star was disciplined by the team in November and was a healthy scratch for four games this season, also failing to eclipse 50 receiving yards in a game since the season opener.
Beane attempted to clarify the selection process of Coleman later during Wednesday’s news conference, insisting it “was my pick.”
“I made the pick,” he said. “Terry’s point was that we might have had a different order of personnel versus coaching, and I went that way. But ultimately, I’m not turning a pick for a player that I don’t think we can succeed with. So don’t misunderstand that. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player. And you know, he’s taken — for some reason — heat over it, and not saying a word about it. But I’m here to tell you the true story.”
The 22-year-old Coleman had 38 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns this season. Beane did acknowledge that it’s time for the Bills to upgrade their receiver room while saying he’s not willing to give up Coleman.
“Keon Coleman is a young player that has been here two years, has two years left on his deal,” Beane said. “It’s up to us to work with him and develop him. His issues have not been on the field. They’ve just been maturity things that he owns. I give him credit. … He doesn’t make excuses, which I appreciate.”
