His standing wasn’t helped by ownership, either, when Terry Pegula passed off responsibility for the Coleman pick to fired coach Sean McDermott when defending his decision to retain general manager Brandon Beane in January.
Buffalo shifted into damage-control mode after those comments, with both Beane and new coach Joe Brady making sure to express confidence in and show appreciation for Coleman ahead of the 2026 season. But the numbers don’t lie: Coleman must produce at a higher rate in order to keep his job with the Bills, a team that still hasn’t assembled a truly threatening receiving corps since the departure of Stefon Diggs and doesn’t have time to waste in their pursuit of an ever-elusive Super Bowl appearance.
Coleman hasn’t spoken on the matter before Tuesday, but it’s clear he was listening.
“I ain’t scared of s—,” Coleman said. “I know what they saying, I hear it. I just don’t care, you know what I’m saying. None of them are going to try to lace them up and try to stand in front of me. People are upset and they are going to say what they want to say at the end of the day. My job is to come out here, put my cleats on and strap them up and prove my work ethic.”
Buffalo’s leadership has repeatedly praised Coleman’s work ethic in 2026 and Brady followed that playbook Tuesday, expressing excitement related to Coleman’s potential output in the upcoming campaign.
“Keon is, the way that he approaches his day, he knows some of the elements that happened last year, he owned them,” Brady said. “He knew coming into this year, it’s another opportunity. I made sure when I got the job he knew he was going to be here and he was going to be a part of our offense. I’m excited about him progressing in this offense and getting with Josh and doing those things.
“…Love the work ethic, love how he’s kind of been doing it right now. Again, he just had one day going against the defense. So this is a lot of routes on air and just the approach, but that’s been the biggest thing is establishing a pro mentality. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him so far.”
As is the case with any media availability in late May, these words are nothing more than offseason talk. The time will arrive this summer for Coleman and Co. to prove it.
Judging by his Tuesday comments, Coleman is aware of the urgency.
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