The former Chelsea captain, 45, has been part of the club's academy set-up since 2023, working with the under-18s and under-21s. When Enzo Maresca was dismissed in January, Chelsea turned to under-21 coach Calum McFarlane rather than call on Terry, who holds the UEFA Continental Pro Licence that McFarlane did not possess.
Terry had previously expressed frustration at the situation but reserved his sharpest words for an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, where Morgan put to him directly that the oversight had been "borderline offensive."
"Now Piers, you're 100 per cent spot on," Terry said.
"I've never thought that I could be Chelsea manager, but when a manager leaves the football club and Chelsea are looking for an interim manager, there was no one in the building, the academy building or the first team building, that was more qualified than me in terms of their qualifications."
He added: "More importantly, and above all of that, whether it was for one game or two games, there was no one more Chelsea than me."
Terry was also candid about the broader difficulty of breaking into management, telling co-pundit Simon Jordan he had spent four years earning his coaching badges and three and a half years as assistant to Dean Smith at Aston Villa, living away from his family, only to find League One doors still closed to him.
"The jobs I interviewed for were League One, and I still didn't get the opportunity to go and do that," he said.
McFarlane oversaw two interim spells, winning two of eight matches, after the departures of both Maresca and his successor Liam Rosenior. Xabi Alonso is set to take charge of Chelsea as permanent manager for the 2026-27 season.
Terry confirmed he had received no contact from McFarlane or the club ahead of either interim appointment, and said he would continue his academy role regardless.
"We will all get behind Calum, he did a great job away against Man City previously and we will get behind the boys because that is what we do," Terry told his TikTok followers after Rosenior was sacked in April.
Morgan suggested Terry could have been "Chelsea's answer to Michael Carrick" had he been handed a short stewardship of the club, a comparison Terry did not dispute.