The past season did not go as expected for the Wroclaw Panthers. Early on, the Panthers faced many losses, which led to a change at the head coach position. Craig Kuligowski, who had been the Defensive Coordinator, took over as head coach. Now, Kuligowski enters his first off-season as head coach of the Panthers, and both he and the team have a lot of work ahead.

After taking over as head coach, the Panthers finished the season on a positive note. Kuligowski plans to build on that strong finish for the upcoming off-season and the 2025 season. "In general, I felt we were getting better week by week. I feel that the program is definitely on the up-swing and we’re making every effort to build upon our strong finish from the 2024 season."

Even though the season didn’t end as hoped, there were many players and areas that Kuligowski was pleased with in terms of development. "The players whose improvement during the 2024 season I found impressive are the following: Hubert Ogrodowczyk, Eryk Paszkiewicz, Adam Dobkowski, Rafal Rogaczewski, Adrian Wentland, Krzysztof Wis, Keanu Ebanks, Jedrzej Rudnicki, Jakub Gajewski, Dawid Brzozowski, Gennadiy Adams, Devan Burrell, Łukasz Gembara, Oskar Romaniuk, and Wojciech Simka.

I was particularly impressed with the improvement in our run defense. Our players joined together and played like a team possessed to win. We were very disruptive and held parties in the opponent's backfields. Offensively, the development of our run game was impressive; we were the most physical team on the field in each of our last 4 games. We also played with high efficiency in our pass game and didn’t make critical mistakes like we had in the beginning of the season."

Panthers' plans moving forward

The Panthers are already making plans for recruiting and have ideas in place for their coaching staff and key players. "We’re in the process of hiring a more experienced staff so that we can give our players the best coaching in the ELF. In addition, there are a number of key imports we’re targeting that will help us become the most talented and the toughest team on the field. In addition, our off-season program has been improved to help our players make some positive gains in strength and agility."

They have also evaluated the players from last season to plan for the next roster. The expectations for the 2025 roster are high. "We’ve evaluated every player on our team. We’ve rated their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve made decisions on players that we need to bring in and who we may not be able to keep. We want to find players who can play at a high level in our system. We aren’t simply looking for the best available players; we want to field the toughest team in the ELF in 2025 and beyond. In addition, we want to be able to have a more productive and aggressive system on offense. On defense, we want to be able to defend the pass at as high a level as we do the run.

As a coaching staff, we want to finish in the top 4 teams in every category on offense, defense, and in each area of the kicking game. By looking at this, we can identify key areas of need. Then we’ll sign players and coaches that will help us make improvements in each of the areas we need to strengthen."

Panthers: Targeting playmakers

To be fully prepared for next season, the Panthers want to strengthen every position. "I think the quickest way to improve your team is in the skill player areas. We’ll be looking for people who can create the big plays on offense and defend them on defense. The team that we’ll field in 2025 will be a team that has playmakers all around the gridiron."

Kuligowski looks ahead

Coach Kuligowski is also excited about the growth of the ELF and the addition of a new franchise. "We’re adding a new team to our league. That’s exciting because while the ELF is a strong brand, we must continue to grow the interest in American football. We must make the league more competitive. We must allow our fans to experience football in a highly competitive environment that leaves them wanting to come back for more."

This was Kuligowski's first season in the ELF, and he's looking forward to the next. "My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience in our first ELF season. I hope the second will be even more enjoyable. We love the fans, the arenas, and the camaraderie that the ELF season brings. I’m excited because I believe in our players and in our organization. We’ll work to become ELF champions."

The Panthers seem ready to take on the 2025 season and make another push to become ELF champions.

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