Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula made a shocking statement at a recent press conference. He publicly said that general manager Brandon Beane didn’t actually want to draft wide receiver Keon Coleman in 2024. This unusual move threw the young player into the spotlight right before the offseason, but Coleman is handling it well and staying focused on his future with the team.
The surprising moment happened during an end-of-season press conference. Beane, who was just promoted to president of football operations, was answering a question about the team’s wide receivers when Pegula interrupted him. The owner wanted to clear up what really happened with the Coleman draft pick.
Pegula asked if he could interrupt, then explained that the coaching staff pushed hard to draft Coleman. “The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said, according to the NY Post. “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, who felt strongly about the player.”
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Coleman’s maturity issues have overshadowed his on-field potential
Pegula added that Beane had been unfairly blamed for Coleman’s poor performance. “Brandon’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,” he said. Despite the public embarrassment, Coleman is reportedly handling the situation with surprising maturity.
A source close to the player said Coleman was “taken aback at first,” but his response was simply to go work out and prepare for next season. He hasn’t asked for a trade, showing he wants to use this as motivation instead of a reason to leave.
The Bills selected Coleman after trading back with the Chiefs, who used that pick to draft Xavier Worthy. Buffalo picked Coleman one spot ahead of Chargers star Ladd McConkey. Unfortunately, Coleman hasn’t matched the success of those other receivers. This hiring controversy isn’t the only brutal coaching decision making headlines recently in professional sports.
His first season was disappointing, with just 29 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns. His second year wasn’t much better, with only 38 catches for 404 yards and four scores. He was benched multiple times and even made inactive on game days, which is a bad sign for a high draft pick.
Former Bills lineman Eric Wood posted online that Coleman’s problems were his own fault. Wood said the receiver was “late to meetings enough to get benched multiple times,” adding that “it’s HARD to be late for meetings.” Wood said Coleman “brought all the criticism on himself and he’s got to own that now.”
Beane confirmed that Coleman’s issues weren’t about his playing ability. The general manager still believes Coleman can help the team win, noting that the receiver has two years left on his contract. “It’s up to us to continue to work with him and develop him,” Beane said.
“His issues have not been on the field, they’ve been maturity things that he owns, I give him credit, he owns, he doesn’t make excuses, which I appreciate. We still believe in Keon Coleman here, and it’s up to us to develop his talent so he can help us win games.” If Coleman can fix his maturity problems, he might turn his career around. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are dealing with their own offensive struggles, showing that coaching decisions continue to impact teams across the league.
Published: Jan 24, 2026 12:30 pm