Baylor

Kevin Curtis joined the Baylor Football staff in February 2021. He serves as cornerbacks coach.

Curtis was honored in 2022 as one of the latest inductees into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame. He was one of the top defensive backs in Tech history, earning two All-America honors and three All-Big 12 accolades at safety after prepping at Lubbock Coronado High School. 
 
His 2022 crop of cornerbacks had to replace a key starter on the outside and worked in two new starters at both corner positions. Fifth-year senior Mark Milton moved from key reserve to everyday starter and AJ McCarty and Tevin Williams III emerged as playmakers in their first extended playing time at the corner position. The Bears finished with 13 interceptions on the year, highlighted by a five-interception performance at Texas Tech that included a McCarty pick-six in a rout of the Red Raiders. 
 
In his first season in Waco, Curtis’ defensive backs were part of a defensive unit that led the Big 12 and finished third nationally with 19 interceptions. Additionally, BU ranked second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally in pass efficiency defense with a rating of 121.54.
 
Cornerback Al Walcott finished second on the team with three interceptions, including a Sugar Bowl record 96-yard return for a touchdown, which also ranked as the second-longest return in Baylor history. Curtis also helped cornerback Kalon Barnes develop into a seventh-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
 
Curtis, who played safety at Texas Tech while Baylor head coach Dave Aranda was a member of the Red Raider coaching staff from 2000-01, joined the SMU program as cornerbacks coach in January 2018 after two seasons in the same capacity at Louisiana Tech. While in Dallas, he mentored Brandon Crossley to a national ranking of eighth in total interceptions with four in 2020, including picks in three consecutive games.
 
SMU corner Brandon Stephens registered a team-high 11 passes defended in 2020, which led the American Athletic Conference. He was selected to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and invited to the 2021 NFL Combine. Stephens was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.
 
Curtis’ unit helped SMU to 21 takeaways in 2019, which ranked fourth in the conference. He mentored transfer running back turned defensive back Stephens, who started all 13 games for the Mustangs and finished second in the league with 12 pass breakups. Ar’mani Johnson also had a breakout season, finishing third in the conference with 11 PBUs.
 
In his second stint at Louisiana Tech from 2016-17, Curtis’ cornerbacks helped the Bulldogs to back-to-back bowl wins.
 
From 2013-15, Curtis mentored defensive backs at his alma mater Texas Tech. The 2015 season saw the Red Raiders register 25 takeaways, 24th nationally, and rank 51st in turnover margin (0.15) before going on to make an appearance in the Texas Bowl. In 2013, Tech finished 8-5 with a victory over Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl.
 
Curtis’ first term at Louisiana Tech (2010-12) saw the Bulldogs rank third in the nation in both interceptions and pick-sixes in 2011, before going on to win nine games in 2012. 
 
Curtis arrived in Ruston after two seasons (2008-09) at Navarro Junior College where he helped the Bulldogs to a 21-2 record and a pair of conference championships. He had his secondary ranked first in the country in interceptions.
 
A two-time All-American and three-time All-Big 12 safety at Texas Tech, Curtis was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by San Francisco. Following three seasons with the 49ers, he spent time with the Packers, Raiders, Texans and in NFL Europe before wrapping up a six-year career in professional football.
 
A native of Lubbock, Curtis earned his degree from Texas Tech in 2002. He is married to the former Kayla Sanders. The couple has one son, Kevin.