Despite being identified with Dungy and the Buccaneers, the roots of the Tampa 2 actually come from the
Pittsburgh Steelers and their
Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s. Dungy openly admitted that it was based on concepts he'd picked up in Pittsburgh, where he'd played as a safety from 1977 to 1978. "My philosophy is really out of the
1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook," said Dungy during media interviews while at
Super Bowl XLI. "That is why I have to laugh when I hear 'Tampa 2'.
Chuck Noll and
Bud Carson—that is where it came from, I changed very little."