Tina Fey Could Easily Take Over Saturday Night Live, Says Lorne Michaels

Tina Fey may soon make her grand return to "Saturday Night Light" as head honcho ... well, that's if Lorne Michaels has anything to do with it.

The show's longtime executive producer said Tina could easily take over the reins when he inevitably retires -- though speaking at the Emmys red carpet Sunday, he said nothing's set in stone cause other people were also in the running.

Lorne clearly has a soft spot for Tina ... praising her as brilliant and great at everything she does ... adding she's a very important person in his life.

The 79-year-old co-created the iconic comedy sketch show in 1975 ... and he plans to hold onto his legacy for another year -- staying on until at least the show's 50th anniversary next year.

Tina kicked off her 'SNL' career in 1997 as a writer ... later promoted to head writer in 1999 and then became a cast member in 2000 ... leaving six years later to write and star in "30 Rock."

Meanwhile, Tina fans did get to see her back in her 'SNL' roots alongside Amy Poehler ... the pair reviving the show's iconic "Weekend Update" segment for the Emmys -- a great moment resulting from two competing networks coming together.

We broke the story ... sources told us that Emmys producers over at Fox approached NBC's 'SNL' peeps to make the throwback moment happen.