Leigh Matthews says the reason behind his shock decision to quit as Brisbane coach despite a year remaining on his contract was simple - he didn't want to stay on a year too long.

Matthews stunned the Lions by informing the club on Sunday that he wished to end his 10 years in charge of the club - during which time the club became the first since Melbourne in 1957 to win three successive premierships after the man known as 'Lethal' steered the Lions to premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Those triumphs ensured that Matthews - widely acclaimed as the greatest player in league history during his 332-game career with Hawthorn - will leave the AFL comfortably placed alongside the likes of Ron Barassi and Kevin Sheedy as one of the game's all-time greats.

Matthews not only won four premierships as a coach - after also steering Collingwood to its famous, drought-breaking 1990 success - but also four premierships as a player with Hawthorn.

His overall total of eight premierships as player and coach is bettered only by Norm Smith and Barassi with 10 each and legendary Collingwood coach Jock McHale with nine and is one greater than Sheedy's total of seven - achieved firstly a player at Richmond and then coach at Essendon.

Quite simply the 56-year-old has nothing left to achieve in the game and admitted on Monday that the time had come for him to quit as Lions' coach.

"I always thought I wanted to go a year early rather than a year late," he said.

"There is no right time to go, there is only this time."

And while he did not rule out coaching again, he said he had no future plans, although his decision to remain living in Queensland will raise speculation he will become the first AFL coach of the new Gold Coast club when it enters the competition in 2011.

"I haven't resigned to do anything else and that is what is scary," he said.

Matthews said ending his near unbroken 40-year tenure in the game - which began as a player with the Hawks in 1969 - was like trying to end an addiction.

"Over the last 12 months I was asking myself when I would finish and when would be the right time," he said.

"And I guess I asked myself one last time and I thought I am asking myself too often and it was time so I made the