If you need some paper, now might be your last chance to place an order, because according to E! Online, Dunder Mifflin's best known regional manager is about to call it quits. Yes, it's official: Steve Carell is leaving 'The Office.'

While Carell has been hinting at the move for months, it still comes as a surprise to many fans who assumed his talk of leaving the show was just that: talk. But for Carell, whose contract is set to expire in 2011 after the end of season seven, the time is right to move on and explore new opportunities, something the burgeoning movie star is sure to have plenty of after the box office success of his latest effort, 'Date Night.'

"I just think it's time," Carell told E! Online. "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go. It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy ... I see it as a positive in general for the show."
Of course, it's pretty unlikely that many fans of Carell or 'The Office' will agree that his exit is a good thing, and although there have been sitcoms in the past that have survived the departure of the series star, those are few and far between.

Still, his comments got us to thinking: if 'The Office' is going to continue without Carell, who should NBC hire to fill the gap? Here's a list of some of the top candidates for Dunder Mifflin's new boss:

• Ricky Gervais -- Who better to take over as an obstinate, politically incorrect and wrong-headed middle manager than the man who created both the role and the show back in 2001 on the original BBC version of 'The Office?' Granted, there's almost no chance he would agree to join the cast, but doesn't NBC owe it to everyone involved to at least give it a go? And who knows, maybe they can talk him into it. After all, there's no doubt that it would be a unique and interesting challenge.

• John Oliver -- Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' has already provided 'The Office' with not one, but two key players; both Carell and fellow regular Ed Helms got their start on Jon Stweart's nightly comedic rundown of the day's news. Why not add a third in Oliver, who seems poised to become the latest 'Daily Show' alumnus to graduate to stardom. Because if 'The Office' doesn't grab him, someone else surely will.

• John Hodgman -- Speaking of 'The Daily Show,' John Hodgman, who has since risen to greater fame as the PC in the popular series of "I'm a Mac" commercials, also cut his teeth alongside Stewart. Hodgman, though, with his deadpan delivery and purposefully milquetoast look and demeanor, who be the perfect passive-aggressive overlord for the gang at Scranton to deal with next.

• Rhys Darby -- Darby may not be quite as familiar as some of the other names on our list, but to anyone who caught his portrayal of wannabe band manager Murray Hewitt on 'Flight of the Conchords' knows, the New Zealand comedian has perfected an unparalleled mix of enthusiasm and cluelessness. That should serve him perfectly in the world of middle management, don't you think?

• Tom Cruise -- Considering how Cruise's big screen career has been going recently, there's no question that it's time to try something new to get him back on track. Indeed, the actor acknowledged it himself with his side-splitting and expectation-shattering turn as morally bankrupt Hollywood mogul Les Grossman in 'Tropic Thunder.' That effort proved he can bring the funny, so why not try to reinvent himself on 'The Office?' And who knows -- if he does it right, he may just reinvent both the show and NBC as well.