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.