Michael Beale says "I got pulled in different places" before being sacked by Rangers and is looking forward to being just a head coach with Sunderland.
The 43-year-old Englishman has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Championship club after the departure of Tony Mowbray.
Beale left Ibrox in October.
"I want to be the coach of the team, not the manager of the whole football club," he told Sunderland's website.
Rangers lost director of football Ross Wilson to Nottingham Forest in April, with Beale taking much greater control of summer signings.
"I went into QPR as a head coach and originally went into Rangers in the same role," Beale said.