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Jolie Oliver has worked as an assistant to the UCLA football head coach and office manager for 20

No one outside the UCLA football program knows about the biggest move head coach Karl Dorrell made after he was hired in December.

While rumors circulated about possible offensive and defensive coordinators, no one paid attention to the fact that he retained a key player and the most important woman behind the scenes: head coach’s assistant/office manager Jolie Oliver.

“Jolie Oliver is the heart and soul of the UCLA football program,” current 49ers general manager Terry Donahue said.

That is high praise from the winningest coach in UCLA football history.

You need only look around Oliver’s office to see what Donahue is talking about. She spends her workday surrounded by 20 years worth of memorabilia. Her cubicle rivals the Hall of Fame downstairs in the Morgan Center: signed posters of Cade McNown, Skip Hicks, DeShaun Foster, Robert Thomas and Troy Aikman, an impressive collection of bobbleheads and figurines, as well as snapshots from the Cotton Bowl, several Rose Bowls and more personal events like former offensive coordinator Al Borges’ wedding and Donahue’s retirement party.

The difference between these mementos and those of the Hall of Fame are that they are all addressed to Jolie, most of them inscribed with messages like, “Thank you for everything.”

“She has a pulse on what the players are thinking. She is a conduit between the players and coaches,” Donahue said.

Oliver did not plan on being the heart of the UCLA football program. She arrived at UCLA in 1974 as a theater student. After getting her B.A. in theater arts, Oliver pursued acting full-time until she realized that, like most actresses, she was going to need a day job. She worked at the UCLA Medical Center until there was an opening in the athletic department for the head football coach’s secretary in 1983.

“Jolie’s personality is so contagious and she had a lot of spirit. Something in me instinctively said she would be great for doing PR for me with people who called and for relating to players,” Donahue said.

He had never hired anyone as young as Oliver, but he could not ignore his intuition.

“I was a big sports fan. I wanted to get into basketball and I thought I would start in football and work my way over,” Oliver said. “I never imagined I would be here for 20 years.”

Oliver fell in love with the football program and never left. She’s seen the best of college football from the Rose Bowls of the early 1980s to the Cotton Bowl in Aikman’s senior year. Over her tenure, the team has moved on from its “gutty little Bruin” reputation, to a permanent place on the football map.

“Nothing beats winning. There is usually something special about teams with winning seasons.” Oliver said. “All those Rose Bowls in the 1980s were the cream.”

But she has seen the worst as well, from coaches leaving to a 1998 loss to Miami to any and every loss to USC.

“Some of those broke my heart for months,” she said.

Oliver has missed two home games in 20 years.

“Once I was at a family reunion on a cruise in the middle of the ocean so I couldn’t even see the game on TV. I was dying!” she said.

Despite her commitment, Oliver never forgot her dream of acting. She has had supporting roles in several films and television shows as well as performing onstage. Still, she didn’t feel like she was doing enough to follow her dream.

Then, about a decade ago, Oliver discovered stand-up comedy. Since then, she has performed at the Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store, Improvisation and the HaHa Café. Donahue and former UCLA player and current Washington coach Rick Neuheisel have flown her out to perform for their teams.

Currently, Oliver performs with five other comedians in a showcase called, “Who Let the White Guy In.”

“Jolie is outrageous! Terrific,” Donahue said.

She does not use her job as stand-up material, but Oliver has used the Mike Price incident for a biting critique on what Alabama does and does not find embarrassing about its history.

“I might be prejudiced, but I thought she was the best. I can see Jolie being one of the big ones someday,” Dorrell said.

That would be a rough day for Dorrell. When he was hired, much was made of the 39-year-old’s youth and lack of head coaching experience. That fact makes him even more grateful to have a 20-year veteran to help him run the show behind the scenes.

“Jolie has unbelievable self-control. Even when things seem panicky, and we’re all running around, she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve.

“It’s comforting. As I learned my new job, she was a calming effect.”

For Oliver, it’s the perfect role.

For information on future performances of Oliver’s stand-up comedy showcase, visit www.wholetthewhiteguyin.com.