After one season with the Giants, Curtis returned to Texas to pursue a coaching career. He began at
Holliday, where he led the 1958 Eagles to an 8–2 record and barely missed the playoffs. The following year Curtis moved to 2A
Jacksboro, where he turned around a program in the dumps for ten consecutive years: culminating in the state title in 1962. The Tigers outscored their opponents 602–43 that year. Curtis soon moved on, as he succeeded
Homer Johnson as head coach at 4A
Garland. Guiding the Owls to back-to-back state titles in 1963 and '64, Curtis became the first coach in Texas high school football to win consecutive titles at different schools in different classifications, going 26–1–1 during that stretch. He also joined, at that time,
Waco's
Paul Tyson,
Amarillo's
Blair Cherry and
Abilene's
Chuck Moser as the only coaches to win three consecutive state crowns. Curtis seriously considered the head coaching job at
Odessa Permian, which just became vacant as
Jim Cashion resigned, but eventually accepted an assistant coaching position on
Hayden Fry's staff at
SMU. In 1968, he returned to the high school level, taking over at
Grand Prairie. In 1979 Curtis briefly returned to Jacksboro, before taking over head coaching duties at
Cleburne High School in 1981. In 1982, he guided the Yellow Jackets to the state semifinals but lost 7–3 to
Don Denbow's
Corsicana squad. Cleburne's 1983 team carried an unbeaten 13–0 record in the quarterfinal round, only to lose 13–3 to
Lubbock Estacado. Curtis also coached in the
Oil Bowl in 1983. In 1984 Curtis finally got his first head coaching job at the
collegiate level, taking over as the thirteenth head football coach at the University of Texas at Arlington. His career coaching record for the Mavericks was 11–10–1. This ranks him sixth at UT Arlington in total wins and eighth in winning percentage. UT-Arlington discontinued its football program after the conclusion of the 1985 season. After one year out of coaching, Curtis returned to the high school level, becoming head coach at 3A
Aledo. He guided the Bearcats to a 6–5 and 8–3 record in 1987 and 1988, respectively, before he retired. ==Death==