By Ed McGranahan.

By Ed McGranahan

The irony was thicker than a lineman’s waistline.

Asked his opinion about new NCAA guidelines designed to open a proverbial can of worms, Dabo Swinney was explaining how little he thought of it when something he said made me stop my recorder and play it back immediately.

Much of the heavy lifting on the Division I Manuel had been done within a short -iron shot of where Swinney stood. Clemson president Jim Barker rode herd on the project following a presidents’ summit in August 2011.

Charged with streamlining the rules, Barker delivered a package that can easily be described as a Pandora’s Box. Basically it eliminates many of the guidelines for contacting and communicating with prospective recruits.

The recommendations by the NCAA Board of Directors are schedule to be in place by August 1, and include the addition of a recruiting staff exclusive of coaches and the elimination of quiet or dead periods as well as the elimination of limits on texting and printed materials to prospects.

“There’s going to be others,” said Swinney, suggesting in his proximity to the work by Barker’s minions that he may be privy to additional points. “If they deregulate the dorms then you’re talking about housing.

“You’re going to have to get in there and build a new housing complex.”

Wait a minute! (Rewind tape…)

Are you serious?

You’re saying that there may be a lift on the 17-year-old NCAA ban on athletic dorms?

The issue that ultimately sent the program into a decline that only recently begins to show signs of steady recovery?

Does Max Tweet Danny: “That thing during Bush Sr.’s administration … never mind.”

So, what does all this mean? Why would Barker – an educator first – sign off on a string of rules that will further complicate the lives of high school athletes, their parents and coaches.

Swinney was blunt in his assessment. “I don’t like it.” Apparently the coaches in the Big Ten have “serious concerns.”

An NCAA meeting in April affords an opportunity to rethink this thing. At the original president’s session in 2011 they approved extra cash for student-athletes. It was rescinded when a vast majority of schools expressed concern.

Nevertheless, Swinney sounded resolute and eager to plow forward.

“I only want to be the best. That’s going to take a commitment on everyone’s part,” he said. “We’ve been able to make great strides.

“There’s not a lot of room for error when you’re trying to be an elite program. There are some things we’ll sit down and talk about and map out over the next several weeks as we come to terms with how the landscape is changing.

“It’s coming. It’s going to be a relentless machine at some places because they can and they will. We don’t necessarily have what everybody has,” he said. “We’ve just got to make the best use of what we do have and make sure we’re fully committed and have the wherewithal to compete.”

Even if it means breaking ground on the Danny Ford Hotel.