Between 1976 and 1999, Zampese served as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for various National Football League teams.
Despite his small size (5 feet, 8 inches and 155 pounds), Zampese played tailback for Santa Barbara High School from 1951 to 1953.
[1] In December 1953, he was selected by the Helms Athletic Foundation's football board as the CIF Player of the Year.
[1] The Los Angeles Times called him "Little Ernie Zampese, a durable workhorse who did everything well for the Santa Barbara High Dons.
In a 1987 feature story, the Los Angeles Times wrote of Zampese in his college days, "Zampese was a work of art, or so the legend goes, a guy who could paint the town Trojan Red at night and be seen whistling at sunrise the next morning, a Daily Racing Form folded under his arm, a soda in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
In the Trojans' final pre-season game in September 1956, Zampese scored two rushing touchdowns and returned a punt 66 yards.
Weighing less than the 160 pounds credited to him on Troy's roster, the slick Santa Barbara speedster sparked the so-called second varsity unit ..."[5] In addition to playing halfback, Zampese was also the punter for the 1956 Trojans team and was among the national leaders with an average of 43.9 yards per punt.
[4] In his final college football game, Zampese ran 38 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Trojans a 28–20 win over Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Zampese later recalled that the part-time job that cost him his eligibility as a senior was sweeping leaves for $1.50 an hour.
Zampese later recalled, "We did that to get extra money because you could hardly survive on what the Pacific Coast Conference allowed for scholarships.
[9] After being cut by the Rough Riders in the summer of 1958, Zampese took a job driving a sugar beet truck in Bakersfield, California.
[4] He later recalled that his wife straightened him out and urged him to return to college so that he could pursue his dream of becoming a football coach.
"[4] In 1966, Zampese moved to California Polytechnic State College in San Luis Obispo, as the backfield coach.
[12] Zampese recalled that his years as an assistant coach at San Diego State was his first exposure to a great passing attack.
[2] In March 1979, Zampese was reunited with Don Coryell as the wide receivers coach for the San Diego Chargers.
[13][14] He coached the receivers, including Hall of Famers Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow, from 1979 to 1983.
In 1981, the Los Angeles Times published a feature story giving the little-known Zampese much of the credit for the famed Air Coryell offense of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
[15][16] In 1985, the Chargers shuffled assignments, with Zampese losing the title of assistant head coach and becoming offensive coordinator.
For that matter, he probably did not even know that he was assistant head coach and undoubtedly does not care that he is now a mere offensive coordinator.
[17]During Zampese's years with the Chargers, they consistently ranked among the top offensive teams in the NFL.
In his first year in Dallas, the Cowboys' offense finished second in the NFL in scoring with an average of 25.9 points per game.