USA TODAY Sports

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Thursday that the late Joe Paterno "probably" should not have been fired from Penn State in 2011 after assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged in a sex abuse scandal.

"They probably shouldn't have fired him, they probably should have suspended him," Corbett told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "He probably should have been given the last three games, not on the sideline."

Internal e-mails released Wednesday showed NCAA officials debating whether they had the authority to penalize Penn State.

Corbett was a member of Penn State's board of trustees who moved to fire Paterno, who died less than three months after his dismissal. Sandusky​ was convicted on 45 counts of sexual abuse.

Corbett, who lost his re-election to Tom Wolf on Tuesday, said he was "sad" that there is a perception that he's responsible for Paterno's death.

"It's not the case," Corbett told TheInquirer. "Obviously cancer killed Joe Paterno."