LEIGH Matthews has quit his roles as deputy chairman and football director at the Brisbane Lions but will stay at the club as a director.

Matthews, who was coach in the club's greatest era when it won flags in 2001-2003, said he felt his work with the Lions conflicted with his jobs in the media. He worked at Melbourne radio station 3AW last year, as well as Channel Seven, and was often asked about the club's future in a tumultuous year that saw Justin Leppitsch sacked as coach.

"The board was advised late last year that I would not be the official football director in 2017 as I believed doing that function was in conflict with both the time commitment and effectiveness of my various media roles," Matthews said. 

"However, I am happy to remain on the board and continue to help out where I can."

The club's board will meet for the first time this year in the coming weeks to discuss who should be the next football director. 

There has been plenty of change at the club in recent months, with Chris Fagan coming in as coach, David Noble as football manager and Tom Rockliff no certainty to be appointed as captain for 2017.

Fellow board member Andrew Wellington will become deputy chairman while also continuing as finance director.

"Leigh remains on the board of the Brisbane Lions and he will continue to play a major role as we work our way back to relevance in AFL football," chairman Bob Sharpless said.  

"Leigh is an important figure in the game and he has a wide range of media commitments that take time and focus. As a board we understand and respect his decision going into 2017.  

"We have our first board meeting of the year in coming weeks where directors will discuss our options for football director.  

"After Leigh informed us of his intentions at the last board meeting of 2016, we have already agreed that Andrew Wellington will step up into the deputy chairman role, which is great for the club.  

"Andrew brings excellent financial nous from his work career, a deep knowledge of the game having played and served as an administrator at community level for the better part of four decades, and been a member of our club since 1995.  

"I congratulate Andrew on his appointment, which comes at an exciting time for the club with our women’s team about to embark on historic first season in the AFLW competition."

The Lions also need to appoint a list manager after Peter Schwab left to take up a role at the AFL as the umpires' boss.