Jakub Samel remains in the position of head coach of the Panthers Wrocław.

Experienced coach Jakub Samel is set to continue his tenure as the head coach of the Panthers Wrocław in the Polish Football League (PFL)!

Jakub Samel began his American football journey in 2008 with the Silesia Miners. By 2013, bolstered by his experience on the field and his work with the youth and reserve teams in Silesia, he took over as head coach of the Silesia Rebels Katowice. He joined the Panthers Wrocław organization in 2016 as an offensive line coach. The rest is history: four Polish Championships (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), as well as two titles each in the PLFA II (2016, 2017) and PLFA J-11 (2016, 2017) leagues. Beyond his domestic success, Samel led the Panthers' first team to the European League of Football (ELF) semifinals in 2021. Since 2022, he has also served as the head coach of the Polish National Team. Last season—following several internships in the NFL—he returned to the sidelines in the Polish league, leading a young Panthers squad to the PFL playoffs.

Looking back at the past season, how much did the final result reflect the actual potential of the squad? Do you feel a sense of "unfinished business" regarding specific games, or rather satisfaction that you squeezed the maximum out of this roster?

Looking at our start after returning to the Polish league, we are pleased that despite a challenging schedule, we advanced to the playoffs. This gave our young players an extra game to gain valuable on-field experience. We always set the highest goals for ourselves, so there is certainly some lingering dissatisfaction after certain games, but that will only fuel us during this off-season.

American football is a sport built on constant rotation. How do you evaluate the progress of the youngest players who took their first steps in the senior team last season? Are they ready to take on key starting roles in the upcoming campaign?

The current off-season will reveal everything, but even last year, many key roles—especially in the second half of the season—were filled by our young players, such as Kacper Chorążewski, Jan Wroński, Jan Bryniak, Nataniel Ćmikiewicz, and Alex Okrasa. Let's not forget the football rookies who stepped into the lineup with total confidence, like Igor Beker, Marcin Cugier, and Wojciech Solarski. We expect more examples like these this year!

The off-season is always a time for intensive recruitment. Have you managed to plug the gaps in the units that struggled the most last year? Where were you looking for reinforcements most aggressively—did you focus on signing new imports or on finding talent within the region?

Our primary focus is on internal progression. Therefore, we put the most effort into developing our juniors and integrating new players following our October recruitment drive.

Remaining in your position provides the comfort of continuity. Do you plan to introduce significant changes to the playbook (both on offense and defense), or do you intend to perfect the schemes the players already know? How much will the team's playing style change compared to last year?

Adjustments are made every year, taking into account various factors like the new roster or current trends. Certainly, having the same quarterback in Joshua Cartwright gives me the comfort of working with a true professional, which will help us further streamline our game.

What is your mindset heading into the pre-season? Is the primary goal youth development, or have you set a clear performance target, such as a playoff run or fighting for the championship?

As I mentioned before, at the Panthers, we always aim high, regardless of the section. By aiming high, we positively stimulate the development of our young players and constantly prepare them to play at the highest European level. However, from our current perspective, the most important thing is the "next practice," because that is the only way to reach the goal step by step.