It’s finger-pointing season in Buffalo — and according to the owner, Brandon Beane’s hands are clean.
In a bizarre scene Wednesday at the team’s end-of-season press conference after falling to the Broncos in the Divisional Round and then firing head coach Sean McDermott, team owner Terry Pegula threw second-year receiver Keon Coleman under the bus.
When asked about the 2024 second-round pick who was a healthy scratch at times and appeared to be given up on at one point this season, Pegula interrupted his general manager and now president of football operations Brandon Beane to defend him and shovel some dirt over his ex-coach.
“Can I interrupt?” Pegula said during a press conference as Beane was answering a question about Coleman. “I’ll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. 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 from his coaching staff, who felt strongly about the player. [Brandon] has taken for some reason heat over, but I’m here to tell you the true story.”
Coleman is still under contract for two more years and is the highest-drafted Bills receiver since they selected Sammy Watkins with the No. 4 pick in 2014.
The Bills famously traded with the Chiefs, allowing their rivals to grab receiver Xavier Worthy, and then took Coleman one pick ahead of Chargers star Ladd McConkey.
After tallying 556 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in his rookie year, Coleman regressed to 404 receiving yards and another four scores.
Beane added that he previously spoke to Coleman about not letting maturity issues get in the way of his playing time.
“Some of the maturity stuff got in the way,” Beane added when asked why Coleman was benched during the regular season. “It’s up to us to develop his talent so he can help us win games.”
With Pegula blaming Coleman on McDermott, it added another layer to the reported coach vs. front office dissension that played out in Buffalo.
The key moment that upset the team, according to reports, was a meeting roughly five weeks ago when McDermott questioned the roster’s talent for why the team was struggling to reach its Super Bowl goals.
Beane added during the press conference that his biggest regret was “putting pressure on the wide receiver group” earlier this year, adding that he felt at the time that they were being picked on unfairly.
The Bills ended the season with Khalil Shakir, midseason signing Brandin Cooks and Coleman as their wide receiver group, with Cooks letting Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian wrestle the ball away in a game-deciding interception in overtime on Saturday.
They combined for 10 catches for 109 yards with one touchdown in the loss, with Coleman notching the score on his lone 10-yard reception.
Pegula and Beane mentioned multiple times that “a bad call” — in reference to the Cooks-McMillan play — was the reason they lost to the Broncos.
“I did not fire a coach based on a bad officiating decision,” Pegula added during the press conference.
As Buffalo searches for a head coach, Beane referenced things former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did for them on offense before he departed to lead the Giants.
With Daboll now available after being fired by the Giants, it is possible that he lands the job in Buffalo, as Beane complimented his spread-out scheme on multiple occasions Wednesday.
Daboll is set to interview for the Bills’ head coaching job this week and may have to rein in Coleman — should he stick with the team after these jarring remarks — should he get the job.
