Good news: The Buccaneers went 9-7 last season, their first winning record since 2010.

Bad news: Tampa Bay missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year, which means whether they like it or not, they’re automatically in the running to appear on “Hard Knocks,” the HBO documentary that follows an NFL team through training camp and the preseason.

The NFL implemented a rule several years ago that could require teams be featured on “Hard Knocks” if they didn’t meet specific criteria. Specifically, teams that have hired a new coach, made a playoff appearances in the last two seasons or appeared on the show in the last decade are exempt. Everybody else is fair game.

And the Bucs believe they’re among the favorites to be chosen for “Hard Knocks,” according to the Tampa Bay Tribune’s Rick Stroud, who adds that the team is bracing for the possibility -- and will embrace if they draw the short straw.

“I think our players are at a point in their maturity that they would be able to handle it,” co-chairman Joel Glazer said. “They recognize what goes along with it. We’ll always be supportive of the league. Nobody is rushing to the podium for that necessarily. But I do feel I have great confidence in this team.”

The Bucs will cooperate fully if they get the nod, and the league is expected to make an announcement sometime next week.

The biggest concern for any team is that they don’t want cameras in their meeting rooms or at their practices.

“In this day and age, it’s not like the old days, everybody has got their cameras out for everything,” Glazer said. “There’s no question, it would be good just for people in Tampa to get to know our team and our players. There’s no question there are positives and a national platform for people to get to know our players.”

That said, it’s also a way for teams without much of a national presence to get exposure.

“Jameis [Winston] would be the star and all over it,” former NFL coach HermEdwards told Stroud. “He would be great for them. He’s an emotional guy and he’s going to say some stuff. Coming out of Florida State, not everybody liked him. But the nation would learn more about the quarterback that they didn’t know, and ultimately, I think that could be good for him.”

The seven other teams eligible for “Hard Knocks” are the Browns, Ravens, Titans, Colts, Eagles, Bears and Saints.