STATE COLLEGE — New Penn State coach Tom Bradley said this morning he is replacing Joe Paterno with “very mixed emotions.”

The defensive coordinator is Penn State’s first coach other than Paterno in almost half a century. He was appointed interim head coach by Penn State’s board after the trustees fired Paterno on Wednesday night in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

“We’re obviously in a very unprecedented situation,” a somber Bradley said. “I have to find a way to restore the confidence ... it’s with very mixed emotions and heavy hearts that we go through this.”

Bradley will coach the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions through the end of the season, starting with Saturday’s home finale against No. 19 Nebraska.

Bradley defended Paterno.

“Coach Paterno will go down in history as one of the greatest men, who maybe most of you know as a great football coach,” he said.

“It’s with great respect that I speak of him and I’m proud to say that I worked for him.”

Bradley’s Penn State roots go back more than three decades. He went from special teams captain to graduate assistant in 1979, and has been in Happy Valley ever since.