Never quit until you have a signed contract.

I wouldn’t take it as though the previous manager gave them pause, however, people come and go and good managers manage that.

It’s far more likely that HR was disconnected from the people actually making the decision and did a piss poor job of being a responsible HR department. HR is never your friend though, HR is internal management consulting and you should never forget that when you are not the person who asked them to consult.