East Carolina is an underdog, the little brother and holds a chip on its shoulder for that. So when newly named head football coach Scottie Montgomery took the podium in Harvey Hall Monday morning, it started to make sense that he was the right fit.

Montgomery was not highly recruited out of high school as a player, he even said he wasn’t quite good enough to play for a top-15 North Carolina school. Nonetheless, Montgomery ended up at Duke as a wide receiver. He eventually reached the NFL, as both a player and a coach.

“My edge is probably always being the guy that was going to have to work a little bit harder, do more and then put himself in the right position at the right time, and then exceed expectations when the opportunity came,” Montgomery said. “The chip on my shoulder just continued to grow. When I got around coaches, I wanted to make sure that they understood I was there for one reason: to get better every single day.”

Montgomery made two stops at Duke and coached NFL wide receivers from 2010-12 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But, after all, he is a college coach. He spent the last three years at his alma mater, coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers, serving as the offensive coordinator, and the associate head coach under David Cutcliffe — who helped sell ECU Athletic Director Jeff Compher on the hire.

Compher said he spoke with the tenured Blue Devils head coach before making the offer and found himself certain of his impending decision.

“(Cutcliffe) said ‘Scottie Montgomery is irreplaceable on my staff,’” Compher said of his conversation with Cutcliffe. “‘I will find another person to take (Montgomery’s Duke position) but I will never find another Scottie Montgomery.’”

Montgomery was not immediately a candidate for the ECU vacancy. The 37-year-old from Cherryville, North Carolina was on a recruiting trip for Duke when the news of Ruffin McNeill’s firing came down. He wasn’t thinking much about the possibility of ending up in Greenville in a week.

“I didn’t really know, I had no clue and wasn’t really thinking about it,” said Montgomery to a crowd of the athletic department and media, most of which he had already won over. “I didn’t really think about being a candidate but things changed and moved forward. I was thrilled and excited to even be mentioned with the names (of other candidates).”

Montgomery met with the team Monday morning to discuss expectations and the transition the team will experience with a new coach. Davis Plowman, Worth Gregory and Stephen Baggett were among the players on hand to see their new coach interact with the community for the first time.

Plowman, the team’s place kicker was sold on the charisma and underdog attitude.

“I’ve played with a chip on my shoulder, being a kicker here,” Plowman said. “I think it’s going to be great. A chip-on-the-shoulder guy, and that’s how we are, that’s how everybody is. Just bring everything to the table so you can prove everybody wrong.”

Graduated senior Chris Hairston was one of many current and former players around the team’s facilities Monday afternoon. He said you cannot replace McNeill, but Montgomery seems like a good hire to him.

Hairston said despite hard feelings from some players on McNeill’s firing, he has been talking to returning players about staying with the Pirate program.

“Coach Ruff, he would want to see these kids continue and pick up where they left off and stay strong. Do what you’re supposed to do and don’t get out of character. We’re just here to help the younger guys move on,” said Hairston.

Montgomery said he will spend the next two to three weeks recruiting the current roster and retaining players. This is a familiar situation for Montgomery, who lost his head coach during his senior year at Duke.

His contract is set to begin with the New Year.