A graduate of Ringgold High School and the University of Maryland, Zolak was selected 84th in the 1991 NFL draft by the New England Patriots.

As a child, he acted as the waterboy for the football team at Ringgold High School in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, where his father, Paul, worked as head coach and athletic director.

[1][2][3] Future NFL quarterback Joe Montana played for Ringgold during this time and gave Zolak a football, which he later rubbed for good luck before every game.

[1] When Zolak attended Ringgold High School himself, he was the team's starting quarterback and punter, and lettered four times.

[10] The following week, he once more featured in a dramatic conclusion, throwing a 59-yard touchdown pass to Gene Thomas with 2:27 left to beat 25th ranked West Virginia, 14–10.

[12] By the end of the season, as Maryland was preparing to face Louisiana Tech in the 1990 Independence Bowl, he had thrown 225 completed passes in 418 attempts for 2,589 yards and 10 touchdowns.

[16] Upon drafting him, Patriots Vice President of Player Operations Joe Mendes agreed that his size and arm would translate to the NFL, and he was not worried about any accuracy issues.

[19] Zolak spent the 1991 season as the third-string quarterback, behind Hugh Millen and Tommy Hodson, and did not take the field.

[25] Zolak injured his ankle at the end of the third quarter, making the appearance against Kansas City his last for the season as Jeff Carlson took over quarterbacking duties.

[26] Zolak finished the season with 52 pass completions in 100 attempts, 561 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 58.8.

[28] In April, Millen was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, and the Patriots chose Drew Bledsoe with the first pick in the 1993 NFL draft.

[29] During the offseason, Carlson was released, leaving Secules, Zolak, Bledsoe, and Hodson to compete for the three spots on the roster.

By the end of the preseason, Bledsoe had won the starting job and Hodson had been cut, with Secules as the backup and Zolak as the third-string quarterback.

In September, Bledsoe separated his left shoulder in a game and sat out a week to heal, allowing Zolak to make his first start since 1992.

[32] On October 1, 1995, Zolak took the field against the Atlanta Falcons, and completed 24 of 45 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, though the Patriots lost the game, 30–17.

[36] While he appeared set to keep his backup job heading into training camp, he faced tough competition from Jay Barker.

He took the role of emergency quarterback throughout the 1996 season, with Bledsoe taking nearly all the snaps and Tom Tupa serving as the backup upon his signing.

As training camp ended, Zolak gained significantly more playing time during drills and the preseason matchups than he had under Parcells.

[27] With Zolak coming to the final year of his contract in 1998, he sat in his usual spot on the depth chart, in between starter Bledsoe and third stringer Tupa.

His most significant appearance during this time came against the Atlanta Falcons on November 8, 1998, where he completed three of ten passes for 33 yards and an interception in a 41–10 loss.

[48] In October, Zolak was signed to a one-year deal by the Miami Dolphins to serve as the backup quarterback behind Damon Huard and Jim Druckenmiller.

[51] Zolak trained for the Detroit Lions during the summer after they lost Mike Tomczak for the season, but instead he signed on as a host for Patriots Gameday alongside Bob Lobel in August, ending his professional football career.

[55] For the 2008 NFL season, Zolak joined WCVB-TV (ABC Boston) as the station's Patriots analyst and also appeared on "SportsCenter 5 OT" on Sundays with Mike Lynch.

[56] In September 2010, the United Football League announced that Zolak would do color commentary during live games on the New England Sports Network.

[58] On August 8, 2012, Zolak was named the new color analyst for Patriots radio broadcasts joining Gil Santos and replacing Gino Cappelletti.

[60] During a game versus the New Orleans Saints on October 13, 2013, Zolak's unbridled reaction to a comeback game-winning Patriots touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Kenbrell Thompkins alongside play-by-play announcer and broadcast partner Socci went viral.

The new lineup came despite the Gresh and Zo program having exceptional ratings driven by the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl XLIX title.