New Bills coach Joe Brady emphatically backs Keon Coleman after owner’s scathing comments

An eyebrow-raising comment from Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula brought uncertainty to wide receiver Keon Coleman’s future with the franchise. But after offensive coordinator Joe Brady was promoted to head coach on Tuesday, Coleman’s outlook in Buffalo looks a bit brighter. Brady on Thursday backed Coleman and made an emphatic statement on his status for 2026, proclaiming that the receiver “is going to be on our football team.”

After the Bills fired coach Sean McDermott, Pegula threw the coaching staff under the bus in response to a question about Coleman’s disappointing performance through two seasons. Pegula defended general manager Brandon Beane for drafting Coleman, saying that he would not have made that selection with the No. 33 pick in 2024 if not for the coaching staff’s insistence that he do so.

Brady on Thursday made it known that he was part of the movement to draft Coleman and that he remains high on the Florida State product as he enters his third year in Buffalo.

“I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing to happen to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said in a side session with the media after his introductory press conference (via Syracuse.com). “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.”

Coleman was in and out of the starting lineup in 2025 after establishing himself as a mainstay as a rookie. He caught 38 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns as he struggled to improve upon his rookie production. He also caught just two passes in the Bills’ two playoff games, albeit with one going for a touchdown.

“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 has two years left on his rookie contract. While Pegula intimated that the front office is not fully bought into him, elevating Brady to the head coach role could be the difference between dealing him to another team and keeping him around for what the team hopes will be a breakthrough season.

Quarterback Josh Allen expressed confidence that Coleman will not only return to Buffalo in 2026 but that he will also bounce back from the awkward comments from team ownership.

“He will come back from that,” Allen said. “I’m not going to give up on 0. He’s got too much ability. I will not give up on him. We’re going to work tirelessly, him and me, as well as everybody else in the building, to make sure that whenever we step foot on the field that we’re going to find ways to win football games. He’s going to be a part of that.”