The former Aston Villa assistant manager has attempted to land a senior post over the past 18 months, but with no luck.
"When I left Villa and I had to leave for a personal and family reason," JT told talkSPORT.
"But I came back down, spent some time with my family and then I applied for a couple of jobs, and we're not talking Premier League or even Championship, it was lower than that.
"Well, actually, Sunderland was one of them.
"We had a really good meeting. You know, I'd sat in a couple of meetings with a few teams and owners and sat with the Sunderland guys and I thought, 'This is going really well', it's the best one I've kind of interviewed for.
"We had a little bit of a disagreement on overplaying and why they sacked their manager. They were the worst side in Europe for giving away opportunities."
Same feedback
Terry continued: "It was a couple of years ago and they came back and said, 'You don't have experience'.
"That was the feedback I got from three big interviews.
"And I come away from that thinking, I've captained Chelsea for 22 years. I've captained my country. I've worked with some top managers.
"I've got something to give. I'm not trying to be a Premier League manager overnight.
"I'd done my groundwork with Dean Smith at Aston Villa. I'd done all my badges.
"I've got everything. I'm ready to go. And to hear that was a little bit disheartening, to be honest."