There was talk after his first presser that new coach Eric Mangini didn’t embrace the rivalry between the Steelers and Browns. That appears to be a thing of the past, as in today’s News-Herald, Mangini spoke all about the rivalry, and how the Steelers, fresh off their 6th Super Bowl title, have beaten up the Browns aplenty since the 1994 season. Here are some of Mangini’s comments on the rivalry:

“I appreciate the rivalry and I appreciate the tradition and I appreciate the excitement behind those games,” he said. “I was here before. I remember that. I get that, and we love that aspect of it.

“I got all that stuff and it was fun, but you’re always trying to balance that with the fact you don’t want to create so much mystique with the opponent that you go into the game with a competitive disadvantage.”

Now that the Steelers are the World Champs for the 2nd time in four years, they will have the bulls-eye on their backs, and it’s one that the Browns want to hit with Mangini as their head man, something that former coach Romeo Crennel could not do.

“What do you have to do to beat that team?” Mangini asked. “I don’t think it’s even a function of approaching it any differently. It’s understood that you can’t play in one of the Pittsburgh games without feeling it between the cities.

“What we need to do is make sure we’re improving each day and make sure that we’re making progress, make sure that every single day we’re collectively making the decisions we need to make to get better. It starts there and when you get to that week, you need to understand what you have to do to win that game that week. There’s nothing more important than that.”